Distinguished Obstetric Fistula surgeon Dr Andrew Browning AM will speak to senior students at St Patrick's College, Damascus College, Ballarat Clarendon College and Ballarat Grammar School before giving a free public talk at the Wendouree Centre for Performing Arts on Monday evening.

Ballarat general practitioner Dr Lee Meakin first met Dr Browning in February 2017 when she visited the Selian Lutheran Hospital in Tanzania on a volunteer trip.

Dr Meakin said Dr Browning's speech to students and interested members of the Ballarat community would inspire many to participate in community service.

"Dr Browning has completely dedicated his life to service in Africa. I think if he could inspire just one person on his visit to Ballarat to do this, whether it is in Africa or Australia, wold have a great impact," she said.

"Not all of us will do that but it changes the way we look at what we do. We can get quite caught up in our own problems but when we look at these women overseas we see how lucky we are."

Dr Browning completed his medical degree in Australia and spent some time at a hospital in Murgwanza, Rwanda at the frontline of the 1994 genocide.

Realising that his future lay in missionary work, he returned to train with the renowned Dr Catherine Hamlin at the Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Dr Browning spent the next 17 years living and working in Africa.

This year he was made a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to the international community through the provision of obstetric care to women in Africa.

"When I visited Dr Browning at the Selian Lutheran Hospital in Arusha, Tanzania, the conditions were incredibly basic," Dr Meakin said.

"Andrew would operate with a camping head torch to provide light when the electricity failed. He carried antibiotics and medical supplies with him under lock and key so that they weren't stolen.

"Obstetric care in Tanzania is limited and rudimentary. Women may be left incontinent of urine and faeces after a traumatic childbirth and are shunned by their husbands and communities. Andrew's surgery changes that."

Dr Browning is Chair of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics Committee for Fistula and Genital Trauma.

The public talk will be held on Monday the 29th of July at 5.30pm at the Wendouree Centre for Performing Arts. Although it is free, organisers request that you register for a ticket at bit.ly/ 3029xtM.

For more information on Dr Browning's work or to donate visit https://www.barbaramayfoundation.com.