The Foundation has had a long association with Eritrea, beginning with Fred Hollows' first visit to the country in 1986.

After his death in 1993, The Fred Hollows Foundation began working in Eritrea, carrying out Fred's dream of establishing in-country laboratories to produce high quality, low cost intraocular lenses (IOLs) for use in modern cataract surgery. In 1994, his vision became a reality when the Fred Hollows IOL Laboratory officially opened in Asmara.

In 2006, The Foundation worked in partnership with the Eritrean Ministry of Health to undertake a National Trachoma Prevalence Survey. It was designed to assess not only the rate of trachoma, but the reasons behind the world's leading infectious cause of blindness being so common in Eritrea.

Following the survey, a national Surgery, Antibiotics, Face Washing and Environmental (SAFE) Program commenced in the areas where trachoma is endemic, with support from the International Trachoma Initiative (ITI).

In 2008, The Foundation supported another national survey to gather data on the nature and reasons for blindness in Eritrea, building the knowledge needed for more effective program delivery in the country.

Find out about the Eritrea program.

In 2009, The Foundation's support contributed to:

• 5,694 sight restoring surgeries and interventions being conducted
  
  
• The training of 208 health workers, including general health workers and 62 ophthalmic staff
  
  
• Helped implement major trachoma prevention and treatment program - including training and health education
  
  
• Supported outreach clinics and two expatriate ophthalmologists to strengthen remote service delivery
  
  
• Ongoing planning and monitoring of the National Blindness Prevention Program to eliminate blindness in Eritrea by 2015
  
  
• The purchase of equipment to establish a secondary eye care facility in Ghinda, in Zoba North Red Sea
  
  
• The Fred Hollows IOL Laboratory operating as an independent and commercially successful business.