Life expectancy in Afghanistan is just over 46 years, one in four children die before the age of five, and only 23% of people have access to a safe water supply.

Blindness affects around 2% of Afghanistan's population, with trachoma a major contributor.  

The Fred Hollows Foundation began work in Afghanistan in 2006, contributing to the five year national plan that was put in place and coordinated by the Afghanistan Ministry of Public Health.

Despite the difficult security environment, The Foundation continues to work with local partners to incorporate eye care into primary health care systems and to develop secondary eye care centres at provincial and district levels. 

"The success of this program shows us that even in a country as war-torn as Afghanistan, practical measures can be taken to develop medical infrastructure and improve the lives of those who are disadvantaged by avoidable blindness," says Brian Doolan, The Foundation's CEO.

Find out more about the Afghanistan program.

Through our program work in Afghanistan, The Foundation:

• Screened 13,981 people
  
  
• Performed 782 cataract operations and 1,092 other sight interventions
  
  
• Ran eye camps and school screening camps in Nangarhar province 
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• Provided 800 spectacles
  
  
• Provided management and clinical skills to local personnel
  
  
• Worked with local partners to assess needs in Kunar province for a Community Vision Centre
  
  
• Opened newly upgraded eye operation theatre in Ministry of Public Health Hospital, Nangarhar Province
  
  
• Ran community education campaigns.