Photo courtesy of Claude Ho

Our achievements

With the help of our supporters, The Foundation reached more people in 2009 than ever before. Thank you for helping Fred's work live on.

Record results for 2009

In 2009 we carried out 195,406 operations and treatments, up from 70,000 in 2006. That’s close to triple the number of people treated in just three years!
In 2009 we carried out 195,406 operations and treatments, up from 70,000 in 2006. That’s close to triple the amount of people treated in just three years!

Thanks to our supporters, The Foundation:

  • Looked into the eyes of 1,765,079 people
  • Performed 195,406 eye operations and treatments - up from 176,472 in 2008
  • Trained 5,878 eye health workers, including 85 surgeons - up from 5,217 in 2008
  • Provided $2,543,003 worth of essential medical equipment
  • Built or upgraded 19 eye health facilities
  • Carried out successful eye programs in the Northern Territory, and new initiatives to 'close the gap' in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians
  • Extended our programs into new areas such as Lao PDR and Burundi.

17 years of achievement

  • Restored sight to over 1,000,000 people
  • Pioneered modern techniques of cataract surgery
  • Reduced cost of cataract surgery to as little as $25 in some developing countries
  • Set up independent and commercially successful intraocular lens (IOL) laboratories in Nepal and Eritrea
  • The laboratories export to more than 50 countries and have produced over 4 million sight-saving lenses
  • Price of IOLs reduced from over $150 to just $8
  • Worked in over 30 countries worldwide, with new programs launched in places such as North Korea, Rwanda, Lao PDR and Burundi.
  • 2008 winner of the Givewell Good Giving Australian Charity Award 'Best Practice not-for-profit’
  • Winner of the National Award for Excellence in Community Business Partnerships in recognition of the successful partnership between The Foundation, Woolworths and the Wugularr community for the Community Stores Program
  • Foundation friend and partner, Dr Sanduk Ruit, appointed an honorary Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for ground-breaking work overcoming avoidable blindness
  • Worked with partners to develop new technology for the developing world, delivering innovative solutions through specifically designed lathes, lasers and microscopes.