Photo courtesy of Kelly Chandler.

Who we are

Millions of people in developing countries go blind from lack of access to simple treatment. Millions more stay blind from lack of access to simple surgery.
Photo courtesy of Ben Bohane.
Haraha back fishing after sight-restoring cataract surgery in PNG.
Every five seconds one person in our world goes blind, yet 80 % of the world’s blindness is avoidable.

The Fred Hollows Foundation is inspired by the work of the late Professor Fred Hollows (1929-1993).

Fred was an eye doctor, a skilled surgeon of international renown and a social justice activist who championed the right of all people to high quality and affordable eye care and to good health.   

The Fred Hollows Foundation was established in Sydney, Australia on 3 September 1992, just five months before Professor Fred Hollows passed away, with the aim to continue his work.

The Foundation now works throughout the developing world, in collaboration with its partners and supporters, to prevent unnecessary and avoidable blindness.

In 1993, The Fred Hollows Foundation opened an office in New Zealand to raise funds for blindness prevention in the Pacific region.

Today, The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ has country programs in Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste and a Pacific-wide regional training initiative that encompasses the Pacific Eye Institute in Suva, Fiji.

This regional program focuses on the delivery of eye care training to promote eye care for all. To date the program has focused particularly on Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa, the Cook Islands, Tonga and Tuvalu. 

Worldwide, The Fred Hollows Foundation now works in over 20 countries throughout Africa, Asia (South and South East) and Australia focusing on blindness prevention.

Through reducing the cost of cataract operations to as little as $25, we have helped to restore the sight of more than 1,000,000 people worldwide.

Our Guiding Values

  • We believe that everyone has the right to sight.
  • We advocate for these rights and work collaboratively to facilitate the circumstances for individuals, their communities and governments to realise these rights.
  • We use the best medical, technical and organisational approaches to advance our goals, within the economic and political settings of the countries in which we work.
  • We don't seek to replicate services or functions provided by other organisations. We are not a substitute for government.
  • We work with local partners to act as a catalyst for change.
  • We are willing to invest in people who want to make a difference and own the solutions to their health outcomes.
  • We recognise our responsibilities to our staff, program partners and communities in the countries in which we work.
  • We are accountable for our actions and honest and transparent in everything that we do.
  • We are willing to be innovative in the search for new solutions to complex health problems.