Information Sheets

Download The Foundation Brochure containing general information on The Foundation.

Download Brochure  (1.3mb)

Blindness is most prevalent in developing countries where malnutrition, inadequate health and education services, poor water quality and a lack of sanitation leads to a high incidence of eye disease. Find out about the latest statistics  (63kb)

Cataract is the leading cause of blindness in the world. While easily treated with surgery, most people affected by cataracts live in developing countries where eye health services are difficult to access, costly or are simply not available. Read more  (85kb)

A blind child in a developing country faces a lifetime of hardship. Read more  (104kb)

The Foundation believes that addressing disability is strongly linked to the promotion and protection of human rights and to the alleviation of poverty and social exclusion.

The Foundation is committed to both preventing the impact of disability and to ensuring that people with disabilities have equal access to our program activities regardless of their individual life situation or surrounding environment. Read more (139Kb)

Throughout the world, research has shown that gender equality is crucial to economic development and poverty reduction in developing countries. When women are denied equal access to health services, education and employment, they are less able to care for themselves and their family. The family has fewer opportunities to prosper and is more vulnerable to misfortune and poverty. Read more (94Kb)

In developing countries, blindness can lead to inescapable poverty and early death. Sadly, much of this blindness is avoidable and caused by diseases that can be prevented or treated. Read more  (393kb)

There is an alarming disparity between the health and wellbeing of Indigenous Australians
and other Australians. The Fred Hollows Foundation works to improve the health and wellbeing of Indigenous people in some of the most remote communities in Australia. Read more  (227kb)

The Fred Hollows Foundation believes that Australia’s Indigenous people should enjoy the
same education, employment and societal opportunities as other citizens. However, a lack of
literacy skills among Indigenous communities is a common and critical barrier to participating in activities that many of us take for granted. Read more  (143kb)

The late Professor Fred Hollows, founder of The Foundation, was a skilled ophthalmologist and a respected humanitarian. He believed it was the role of the doctor to serve and help those in need. Fred worked to help some of the poorest countries in the world. Fred saw for himself how blindness was both a result of poverty and also a cause. Read more  (223kb)

Fred Hollows is well remembered as a skilled surgeon and a true humanitarian. As well as conducting radio interviews during his lifetime, he has had many books written about him, with his work featured on a number of websites. There has even been a film made about him and several buildings dedicated to his memory. Find out about Fred Hollows online, in print, on radio and on film  (102kb)

Following the initiative of the late Professor Fred Hollows, The Foundation helped establish factories in Nepal and Eritrea to produce IOLs at a much cheaper cost. Read more  (45kb)