Standard Chartered Bank has joined with The Fred Hollows Foundation to restore sight to thousands of people in China.

Standard Chartered Bank, through its Seeing is Believing campaign, has committed approximately $A1.1 million, which is supplemented by a further $A365,671 from The Foundation. Seeing is Believing is a collaboration between the bank and the International Agency for Prevention of Blindness (IAPB).

At a ceremony in the city of Huhhot, The Foundation’s CEO Brian Doolan said eye care services will now be upgraded in the underserved western regions of Inner Mongolia and Gansu province. In addition, the money will be used to build on existing programs in Jiangxi province, in the south-east.

“This is an extraordinary partnership and The Foundation is grateful to the Standard Chartered Bank, the IAPB, the local government, Ministry of Health and our partner hospitals for their commitment to making it a success,” said Doolan.

“This is a great moment for people with treatable blindness who are living with extreme hardship in these three regions.

“Fred had a vision for a world where no one is needlessly blind. The Foundation lives on because of Fred’s dream, and we are committed to restoring dignity and independence to those in need.”

Over the coming three years, cataract, childhood blindness and refractive error will be tackled in urban and rural areas across the three regions.

Eye care infrastructure will receive a boost and local medical practitioners will be upskilled, so that local services become sustainable.

Since 1998, The Foundation has conducted groundbreaking work in China’s Jiangxi province to return sight and build the expertise of local health professionals. The training and treatment models used by The Foundation in the province have proved effective and will drive the new programs in Inner Mongolia and Gansu.

The Foundation has now received two Seeing is Believing grants for our work in China and a further two for our Vietnam programs.

“These new projects take us another step forward as we work towards the VISION 2020 goal of a world without avoidable blindness,” Doolan said.