What was fred hollows

Fred Hollows restored sight to thousands of people around the world and trained countless eye doctors to do the same. He believed everyone, rich or poor, has the right to quality, affordable eye care. His work lives on today through The Fred Hollows Foundation. The Fred Hollows Foundation now works in more than 25 countries and has restored sight to over two million people worldwide. This has been achieved with the overwhelming support of our donors. We continue to train eye doctors and nurses, raise money for essential equipment and medical facilities, and perform eye surgeries just like the ones Fred himself performed over 30 years ago.

We're restoring sight and restoring lives. After their eye sight is saved patients are able to return to work or school and provide for their families. Fred's Story Scroll down. Keep Fred's dream alive. Give monthly. Kiwi eye surgeon Fred Hollows dedicated his life to restoring sight to the needlessly blind.

He was determined to end avoidable blindness, as are we. Fred was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, in The Foundation works towards a world where no person is unnecessarily blind. When someone's sight is restored, it gives them a chance for a better life.

They're able to work, go to school and provide for their families. The Fred Hollows Foundation focus is on preventable and treatable diseases such as cataract, trachoma and diabetic retinopathy. In-country work involves local training and providing affordable technology, so doctors, nurses and health care workers can recognise, diagnose, refer and treat eye problems in their communities.

They use research to improve understanding of avoidable blindness, then use findings to implement strategies and advocate for change. Eyes are important organs that help us navigate our way through the world. Learn more about how eyes work and how eye diseases affect our sight. Read more on Fred Hollows Foundation website. Childhood blindness, caused by cataracts, trachomas, and retinopathy of prematurity, affects three out of four children who live in poverty.

Fred Hollows provides free treatment for those affected. Find out how to help. Trachoma is the leading infectious cause of blindness in the world today.

His talent in science meant he was offered a place in medicine, and after graduating, Fred began assisting eye surgeons. Fred eventually became so interested in ophthalmology, he moved to the UK to specialise in it. In , after seeing two senior Aboriginal men from Wattie Creek as patients in his eye clinic, Fred was invited to fly up to their camp in the Northern Territory.

The poor standard of health in the camp, particularly in eye health, was a shock. Fred was especially disturbed by the huge number of children and adults suffering from blinding trachoma — a disease rarely found in the rest of Australia. He was later asked to go to Bourke, km from Sydney, where he found the same shocking conditions. Fred and Gabi first met in the early 70s during her training as an orthoptist.

A few years later, they worked together on the National Trachoma and Eye Health Program a journey that took them to over Indigenous communities in outback Australia. These experiences had a huge effect on Fred, motivating him to find a way to reduce the cost of eye care and treatment in developing countries.

Fred saw the need for factories to produce affordable intraocular lenses. These lenses were used to treat cataract and significantly cut the cost of restoring sight. He sought to empower local communities by founding these factories in Nepal and Eritrea. The lenses were expensive when made in Australia, but cheap and accessible when made locally.

Despite being diagnosed with cancer, Fred was determined to keep pushing for change in the countries he cared deeply about.