4 out of 5 people in the world
who are blind don't need to be.
An estimated 39 million people around the world today are blind.
Four out of five don't have to be.
Fred Hollows had a vision of ending avoidable blindness. With
the help of the Wild Women on Top and the Sydney Coastrek, The Fred
Hollows Foundation is working to make Fred's vision a reality.
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Did you know: 39 million people
in the world are blind
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Who needs our help?
Most people who are blind (approximately 90%) live in developing
countries, where malnutrition, inadequate health and education
services, poor water quality and a lack of sanitation lead to a
high incidence of eye disease and an entrenched cycle of poverty
and blindness.
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 Of
these, 90% live in the developing world
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What can be done?
Around 50% of avoidable blindness is due to cataract, a clouding
of the lens of the eye.
Simple interventions, such as inexpensive medication and
surgery, can restore people's sight, productivity and livelihoods,
giving lasting benefits for individuals, their families and whole
communities.
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 However
cataract blindness can be treated with a relatively simple
operation
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How do we help?
The Foundation focuses on the comprehensive treatment of
cataract blindness, but we also tackle other causes of blindness,
including trachoma and refractive error.
Through reducing the cost of cataract operations to as little as
$25 in some developing countries, we have helped to restore the
sight of more than 1,000,000 people worldwide, and have
manufactured over four million intraocular lenses.
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The Foundation helps people to help themselves
Our aim wherever we work is to build capacity at all levels,
from village health centres to regional hospitals and national
ophthalmological networks.
We train local doctors and health workers, build and upgrade
facilities, and provide equipment in order to achieve long-term
sustainable eye health care.
Today, we operate programs in over 19 countries throughout
Africa, South Asia and South East Asia, and we work extensively
with remote Indigenous communities in Australia.
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