The Fred Hollows Foundation has congratulated The Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology, Nepal, for promoting its products into the Australian intraocular lens (IOL) supply market.

The lenses are the small pieces of plastic which are inserted into the eye during modern cataract surgery.

The intraocular lenses, produced at the Fred Hollows Intraocular Lens Laboratory in Kathmandu, have been approved for sale in Australia by The Therapeutic Goods Administration - Australia's regulatory agency for medical devices.

The laboratory was established in 1994 as a result of the inspiration of Professor Fred Hollows and the vision and work of his friend Dr Sanduk Ruit from Tilganga.

It is now an independent, self managed and commercially successful entity, under the leadership of Dr Ruit.

“Approval for sale in the Australian market is a great achievement in international development – it shows what can be achieved when local health services in the developing world are self managed,” Brian Doolan, CEO of The Fred Hollows Foundation, said today.

“This is one of the most successful health and development initiatives – Fred would be proud of this great achievement."

In 1995 Dr Ruit devised an international standard IOL that could be produced for far less than those manufactured in developed countries.

All profits from the sale of lenses throughout the world go towards Tilganga’s work in restoring sight to people in Nepal and throughout Asia.

The Fred Hollows IOL Laboratory in Nepal has produced over 2.7 million IOLs since 1994. These lenses are manufactured under the most stringent standards and are currently sold in over 70 countries.

The promotional launch was held at The Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology Congress at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour.