QUARTERLY REPORT MAY 2013
When we ﬁrst met Jean he told us:
I don’t know how to laugh,
I don’t know how to smile
Inside: Record results for 2012 | www.hollows.org.au
Photo: Michael Amendolia
YOUR IMPACT: 2012
Thanks to your support, last year over 8 million people beneﬁtted from an eye operation,
treatment or procedure involving The Foundation and our partners.
Your impact:
• 7.6 million people were treated for trachoma in a number of African countries where the disease
remains widespread.
• 98,088 sight restoring cataract surgeries and 306,827 eye procedures or treatments were carried out
by The Foundation and our partners.
• 40,545 eye health staff and 174 surgeons were trained – four times more than in 2011.
• Over $5.8 million of equipment was provided to eye clinics and hospitals – up from $3.4 million in 2011.
To learn more about our 2012 results go to www.hollows.org.au
NEWS IN BRIEF
Photo: Penny Bradfield
A MESSAGE FROM OUR
CEO BRIAN DOOLAN
Nepal: New five year partnership
When it comes to our goal of eliminating
avoidable blindness, numbers count! Every
year around this time, we receive ﬁgures of
our overall results for the previous year. We
share these results with you so you can see
exactly what your support has achieved for
millions of people around the globe.
I’m proud to say that in 2012, over 8 million
people beneﬁtted from an eye operation,
treatment or procedure involving The
Foundation and our partners.
To break that ﬁgure down, we supported
98,088 sight restoring cataract surgeries
and a further 306,827 eye procedures or
treatments. The treatment of trachoma is
now a major focus of The Foundation and
through our partnership with Sightsavers
International, we treated 7.6 million people
across a number of African countries where
that disease remains endemic.
The Foundation has signed a new
partnership with the Tilganga Institute of
Ophthalmology in Kathmandu that will
help build a long-term, sustainable future
for eye care in Nepal.
We will assist with skilled training
for doctors and nurses, support the
development of new exportable eye-care
technology, we will continue to support
more remote outreach eye services.
The Foundation will also continue to work
closely with Tilganga’s Medical Director and
Founder, Dr Sanduk Ruit who remains at
the forefront of the treatment of avoidable
blindness in the developing world.
China: Vision Centre for rural
communities
A new vision centre has opened at the
Lancang County Hospital in China’s
Yunnan province. The vision centre
will reach a population of half a
million people living in a province known
to have high rates of vision impairment.
A focus of the vision centre will be
preventing childhood blindness.
Children under 15 make up 17% of
Lancang’s population, so paediatric
services are in very high demand.
To put all these results into perspective,
this report we’re featuring the story of a
young Rwandan boy named Jean. I think
you’ll agree that his incredible story and
transformation demonstrates the huge
difference you can make to the lives of
others through your support of our work.
Thank you again for helping us to change
so many lives.
Brian Doolan, Chief Executive Ofﬁcer.
Supporter Spotlight
The Fred Hollows Foundation would like to
acknowledge the wonderful generosity of
Laser Vision SA.
Photo: Sydney Coastrek
As an organisation committed to
establishing sustainable eye health
programs, we continue to give surgeons
and their support staff the training they
need to help treat thousands of people
well into the future.
Cambodia: Reducing
childhood blindness
Sydney Coastrek 2013 raises
$1.8 million
The Foundation has been working with
the Ministry of Health in Cambodia
to reduce the incidence of avoidable
childhood blindness through early
intervention vision assessments,
increased prescription of glasses and
widespread eye-health education for
school age children. The ongoing program
has screened a total of 54,283 children –
and as a result over 1,960 children have
received sight-restoring interventions
or treatments.
Over 2,000 competitors have braved some
of the worst conditions in Coastrek
history to trek Sydney’s coastline
and raise $1.8 million to restore sight.
The Foundation thanks all the trekkers,
volunteers and support crew for taking
part in the event. A very special thank
you to event organisers Wild Women On
Top – you are keeping Fred’s dream alive.
The total amount raised is enough to
potentially restore sight to 72,000 people!
Thank you.
We are a signatory to the Code of Conduct
of the Australian Council for International
Development.
We are committed to high standards of ﬁnancial
reporting, management and critical practice
See acﬁd.asn.au
Supporting The Fred Hollows Foundation
Donations to The Fred Hollows Foundation are used to support our
programs in Australia and overseas.
The information contained in this publication is accurate at the time of
printing. For more information contact [email protected]
The Fred Hollows Foundation Quarterly Report © 2013 is a publication of
The Fred Hollows Foundation ABN 46070 556 642. The Fred Hollows
Foundation works for a world where no one is needlessly blind and
Indigenous Australians enjoy the same health and life expectancy as
other Australians.
This publication may contain images of persons that have passed away.
The Fred Hollows Foundation would like to acknowledge these persons
and pay our respects to them and their families.
Clavier, 3, pictured with his mother.
He recently received cataract surgery
through the support of The Foundation
RWANDA: COUNTRY PROFILE
Rwanda is a small country in
eastern Africa with a tragic past.
In 1994 around one million people
lost their lives during a 100-day
genocide so brutal, many would
struggle to comprehend what
happened there.
Today the country is an example of the
resilience of humanity. It is regarded as one
of the safest countries in Africa. There is
no garbage on the streets – in fact plastic
bags are completely banned. Children’s
attendance at school is very high and
once a month, Rwandans dedicate their
Saturday to community service projects.
You can’t help but admire what has been
achieved in Rwanda when you consider
the dark days of the country’s recent past.
However, life is still extremely difﬁcult for
the majority of the 10.6 million people
who live there. Rwanda is the most densely
populated country in Africa and three
quarters of the population live off less
than $2 a day.
The Foundation ofﬁcially began working
in Rwanda in 2006. The western border city
of Gisenyi was identiﬁed as a base and the
local eye unit was renovated. At the time, a
shortage of ophthalmologists meant that
outreach eye services were an essential part
of service delivery. But, with limited trained
eye health workers in the country, avoidable
blindness in Rwanda remains a major issue.
Of the estimated 30,000 people living with
blindness in Rwanda, over 80 per cent have
a treatable or preventable condition.
Today, The Foundation is the leading
international eye-health NGO in Rwanda
working in eight districts. We are
determined to help the country move
towards a sustainable eye health system, so
avoidable blindness can be eliminated.
In order to do this we are working closely
with the Rwandan Government and
partners to establish a comprehensive eye
health plan that includes training, disease
control, infrastructure development and
the provision of equipment.
Addressing the problem
Training and development of eye health
staff is a major focus for The Foundation
in Rwanda. Over the next five years we
are committed to:
• Offering scholarship support for
Ophthalmologists and Ophthalmic
Clinical Officers and short courses
to up-skill eye health workers.
• Providing eye health workers with
the most up to date training, skills
development and equipment.
• Building the capacity of training
institutions within Rwanda.
“When you start from
scratch you can put the
right program in place
and that is what The
Fred Hollows Foundation
has been able to do
in Rwanda.”
– Dr Ciku Mathenge
Dr Ciku Mathenge believes the
training of eye health staff is
an essential part of eliminating
avoidable blindness in Rwanda
JEAN’S STORY: YOUR SUPPORT HAS CHANGED HIS LIFE
When we first met Jean, 12, he told us that he didn’t know how to laugh or smile. He was born with cataract
blindness, a disease that deprived him of an independent and active childhood. Through the support of people
like you, Jean’s vision has been restored and his life has been transformed.
When we first met Jean, he told us “I don’t know how to laugh, I don’t
know how to smile.” When his sisters went to class, Jean had to stay at
home because the local school told his father they could not teach him.
Jean had lived with blindness all of his life. He had cataract, but it
wasn’t until The Foundation found him at a remote eye screening that
his family realised his condition could be helped.
The Foundation’s Medical Director for Africa, Dr. Ciku Mathenge
examined Jean. Although he should have received help years ago,
Dr. Ciku believed Jean’s sight could be restored.
Twenty-four hours after receiving an operation on both eyes, Jean’s eye
patches were removed. He reached over to touch his mother’s face and
gently whispered ‘Mummy I can see your face.”
When the team returned Jean to his village, everyone was waiting for
him. They stood around and cheered as Jean played football with the
other children.
Jean watched the people around him laughing and smiling and
gradually he began to smile himself! The difference you can make in
one person’s life is extraordinary.
Thank you!
To learn more about our work in Rwanda visit www.hollows.org.au
Foreign Minister Bob Carr and Helena
Carr greet patients at the National
Ophthalmology Centre Vientiane
COMMITS $1 MILLION TO PROGRAMS
Australian Minister for Foreign
Affairs, Bob Carr, has announced a
new $1 million initiative to tackle
avoidable blindness during a recent
visit to Lao PDR.
“Restoring a person’s vision has immediate
and signiﬁcant beneﬁts for those who
suffer blindness and for those who care for
them,” Senator Carr said.
The Foundation, which has been working
in Lao PDR since 2008, welcomed Senator
Carr’s announcement.
Senator Carr said the new funding would
include the delivery of primary eye care,
training for nurses, eye doctors and
ophthalmologists, as well as provision of
equipment for testing.
“Avoidable blindness is a signiﬁcant
global health problem which hinders
development and disproportionately
impacts the poor, yet much of it can be
prevented or treated,” Senator Carr said.
“Girls and women are most often called
on to sacriﬁce education, employment and
mobility to care for a blind relative. When
vision is restored in instances like this,
Bart Verweij/AusAID
LAO PDR: THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT
then the enrolment of girls in schools goes
up,” Senator Carr said.
The Foundation’s CEO, Brian Doolan said
by supporting this program, Australians
are playing an important role in
eliminating avoidable blindness around
the world.
“This announcement, together with the
important work already underway through
AusAID, will help restore sight and change
lives,” Doolan said.
THE FOUNDATION: RANKED IN TOP 50
NON-GOVERNMENT ORGANISATIONS GLOBALLY
The Foundation has been ranked in the top ﬁfty best
non-government organisations (NGOs) in the world in an
annual list of the top 100 NGOs published by Swiss-based
journal, The Global Journal.
“Rather than ‘ﬂy-in, ﬂy-out’ surgery, the organization
works to build local skills and in the past ﬁve years
has trained over 38,000 eye surgeons and clinical
support staff.” – The Global Journal
Fred Hollows examining a young boy’s eye
during his visit to Vietnam in 1992
Photo: Michael Amendolia
The assessment was based on criteria including innovation,
impact and sustainability. The journal highlights the
organisation’s role in reducing the price of cataract surgery
to as little as $25, and its commitment to training local
medical and support staff.
Photo: Dominic Nahr/Magnum/Sightsavers
ETHIOPIA: TACKLING WIDESPREAD
TRACHOMA INFECTION
A young girl is examined as part of a global trachoma survey
The Foundation is supporting a global survey to map the prevalence of
trachoma and identify regions in the greatest need of treatment programs.
Photo: Peter Solness
Trachoma is the most common infectious cause of blindness in the world. It is a
potentially devastating disease, which causes inﬂammation of the eye and eyelid tissue.
The disease is usually spread through poor hygiene conditions and is one of the most
painful ways to go blind.
Commencing late last year in Oromia, a south-west region of Ethiopia, the survey aims
to reach four million people by March 2015, across more than 30 countries.
CEO Brian Doolan, said The Foundation is committed to eliminating trachoma worldwide
by 2020 and the organisation’s involvement in such an ambitious survey is an example of
that commitment.
“Over 30 years ago Fred Hollows saw ﬁrst-hand in remote Indigenous communities, how
damaging trachoma can be,” Doolan said.
Thanks to you:
“Today we are still working hard to eradicate this disease from Australia for good – and
now, through this partnership with other organisations like Sightsavers, we are spreading
Fred’s dream even further.”
Last year The Foundation and our
partners treated 7.6 million people
for trachoma throughout a number
of African countries where the
disease remains widespread.
As with many other neglected tropical diseases, trachoma is a disease of poverty. It is
prevalent in hot, dry and dusty areas where there is a lack of water and sanitation. Part
of the mapping survey will also record the availability of water, sanitation and hygiene
facilities, with all data captured on a smart phone.
This is the ﬁrst time that mobile data has been used to survey a global health issue on
such a wide scale. All the data will be mapped and results uploaded to open-access
disease maps.
The UK Government is supporting the initiative being led by Sightsavers – and involving
other organisations such as The Fred Hollows Foundation.
The Foundation has resolved to help eliminate trachoma worldwide by 2020 through
treatment already proven successful by the World Health Organisation.
This year The Foundation is making
the treatment of trachoma in
Ethiopia a major focus due
to the extent of the problem in
that country.
HELP RESTORE SIGHT AND
TRANSFORM A LIFE
Fred believed there was nothing quite like seeing
someone’s face light up as they regained their sight.
You can help Fred’s work to grow by making a tax
time donation.
When we ﬁrst met Jean he told us I don’t know how to
laugh, I don’t know how to smile.
But thanks to you, The Foundation was able to bring
eye screening to Jean’s local village, and later perform
cataract surgery to restore his sight. You have given Jean
so much – the chance to be a child, to play, to learn, to
laugh and to smile.
Today you could give another person with avoidable
blindness the chance to smile.
Please make your tax-deductible donation today.
Simply ﬁll in the form below,
call 1800 352 352
or visit www.hollows.org.au
4 easy ways for you to donate
Mail
the coupon below to
Locked Bag 5021
Alexandria NSW 2015
Thank you!
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Fax
1800 352 352
www.hollows.org.au
the coupon below to
(02) 8741 1998
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