About the program

The Fred Hollows Foundation's activities in Cambodia cover seven provinces and reach all levels of the public health system, making The Foundation the largest operational eye health non-government organisation (NGO) in Cambodia at present.

Our program works to ensure equal access to high quality and affordable eye care services for all people in Cambodia and strategies are in place to reach remote and underserved communities through activities such as outreach mobile eye camps. We also support a surgical subsidy for the poorest people to gain access to eye care treatment.

Together with our partners, The Foundation has:

• Established the first Ophthalmology Residency Training Program in Cambodia, which will increase the number of ophthalmologists working in the public health sector from 9 to 18 by 2012.
• Made concerted efforts to address uncorrected refractive error by training refraction nurses, establishing refraction services at all program provincial eye units and by facilitating refraction screening and the provision of glasses in remote areas and at schools.
• Supported the delivery of a National Refraction Training Program, which will increase the number of qualified refractionists working in the public health sector from 19 to 40 by the end of 2012.
• Continued to maintain a focus on cataract blindness by training and equipping eye care teams to perform cataract surgery and by supporting cataract screening, treatment and prevention.
• Continued to support local training programs for eye care personnel
• Developed and installed an electronic Health Management System at the National Eye Hospital and selected provincial eye units to assist in the monitoring of progress against the National Strategic Plan.
• Plans to add to the health infrastructure of Cambodia with the construction of new eye units as well as the establishment of a Regional Eye Hospital in Siem Reap.