Tag term summary

  • Government invests $16.5m to fight trachoma

    The Foundation has welcomed a $16.5 million Federal Government boost to tackle trachoma in Indigenous Australia. Minister for Indigenous Health Warren Snowdon announced today the funding to increase screening and treatment rates for the disease in the Northern Territory, Western Australia and South Australia.

  • National Museum of Australia honours Fred's commitment to improving Indigenous eye health

    The National Museum of Australia in Canberra has launched an exhibit honouring Fred Hollows' commitment to improving the eye health of Indigenous Australians.

  • The Foundation supports calls for governments to recommit to closing the gap

    The Foundation supports ‘Close the Gap’ Campaign Co-Chair Mick Gooda’s appeal for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health to be placed on the agenda of Friday’s Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting if there is to be any hope of closing the life expectancy gap by 2030. “Five years ago all sides of politics agreed to do something about the national disgrace that sees Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people die more than 10 years younger than the broader Australian community,” Mick Gooda said today.

  • Puppet film promotes eye health in remote in Indigenous communities

    A short film starring Aboriginal puppets will be distributed to remote communities across Australia to educate locals about the importance of getting their eyes checked.  Looking Good tells a humorous story about one boy’s journey to help his grandmother on her quest to see clearly. It was produced by Rebel Films in collaboration with The Fred Hollows Foundation and the Anyinginyi Health Aboriginal Corporation,

  • National Close the Gap Day 2013

    The Foundation is committed to the Close the Gap campaign and is taking action to achieve health equality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders by 2030.

  • Time to recognise our first Australians

    With the passing of an Act of Recognition in Federal Parliament today, The Foundation is now calling on all Australians to get behind the movement to formally recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in our Constitution.

  • Banatjarl women's bush tucker garden opens

    The Fred Hollows Foundation, in collaboration with the Jawoyn Association has supported the opening of a bush medicine and bush tucker garden in the Northern Territory. The Banatjarl Women’s Council launched the garden in King Valley as part of the Women’s Development Project. The garden has been established to pass on knowledge about how to harvest, process and distribute traditional bush tucker and medicine to younger generations.

  • QLD Premier launches Fred Hollows photo exhibition in Brisbane

    Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has officially opened the stunning new photo exhibition—Fred Hollows: A Global Vision—at Parliament House in Brisbane. The rare collection of images captures the extraordinary life and legacy of the late Australian eye surgeon, Professor Fred Hollows (1929-93). Premier Newman said Fred Hollows was a great Australian who used his skills and passion for helping others to improve the lives of sight-impaired people around the world.

  • Racism. It Stops With Me

    In a bid to tackle racism, The Fred Hollows Foundation is supporting the Australian Human Rights Commission’s latest campaign “Racism. It Stops With Me.”   As part of the Australian Government's National Anti-Racism Strategy, this campaign will address racism experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in addition to people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.  

  • International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples

    The Fred Hollows Foundation is celebrating the United Nation's International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. This year's theme shines a light on "Indigenous Media and Empowering Indigenous Voices"—a theme that aims to highlight the importance of media in challenging stereotypes, forging indigenous peoples' identities, communicating with the outside world, and influencing the social and political agenda.

  • New eye clinic for Tennant Creek

    The Fred Hollows Foundation, in partnership with the Anyinginyi Health Aboriginal Corporation, has refurbished the first permanent eye health clinic for Tennant Creek residents.

  • The Foundation celebrates NAIDOC week

    This NAIDOC week, we're celebrating the amazing achievements of Indigenous Australians who are working with The Foundation to improve Indigenous health and raise cultural awareness.

  • Slideshow: A year in pictures

    In this photo slideshow we bring together some amazing pictures of our sight restoring work around the world. Captured by some of Australia's best-known photographers, these images represent the many thousands of people our supporters helped last year. > View slideshow > Find out more about our sight restoring work around the world.

  • The Foundation invests to combat Indigenous diabetes vision loss

    The Foundation has announced it is entering into a $3 million partnership with the University of Melbourne to carry out an innovative program to reduce diabetes related blindness and combat chronic disease amongst Indigenous Australians. The three year program, TEAMSnet, will use Internet and mobile technologies such as iPads and mobile phones to provide accurate, low cost eye exams and coordinated diabetes and heart care to Indigenous people in remote parts of the Northern Territory and Central Australia.

  • National Reconciliation Week

    The 2012 National Reconciliation Week is now in full swing, giving Australians the chance to explore, appreciate and learn more about our shared history.

  • Gabi Hollows receives honorary doctorate

    One of Australia's living treasures, Gabi Hollows, has received an honorary doctorate from the University of Sydney in recognition of her tireless work in the field of blindness prevention.   It was a special day for the Hollows family, with Gabi receiving the Doctor of Health Science at a ceremony also attended by her daughter Anna Louise, who graduated with a Master of Nursing.   Gabi said it was wonderful to share the experience with her middle child.  

  • Get behind Close the Gap Day – March 22

    Australians are being urged to get behind National Close the Gap Day on Thursday 22 March. All around the country local organisations and communities are working to close the gap in life expectancy and tackling the health crisis that sees Aboriginal people experience higher rates of preventable illness – including avoidable blindness.

  • Cooperation not intervention: call for a new direction

    The Fred Hollows Foundation has joined other NGOs in support of a statement regarding a cooperative approach to Indigenous health. A statement and list of supporting agencies are below: Aboriginal peak bodies, community welfare and public health groups from around the country are calling for a new direction in policies affecting Aboriginal Australians based on cooperation, not ‘intervention’.

  • Welcome news for Indigenous health equality

    The Fred Hollows Foundation welcomes an announcement by the Federal Government that a new health plan for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians will be developed with Indigenous people and organisations. The Foundation’s Indigenous Programs Manager, Joy McLaughlin, believes the plan will be an important step towards closing the gap in life expectancy and infant mortality between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

  • Foundation celebrates NT Landcare Award

    A horticulture project supported by The Foundation has received major recognition, winning the Local Government Landcare Partnership Award at the 2011 NT Landcare Awards. The Landcare Awards recognise Territorians who have demonstrated excellence in caring for land and water resources.

  • Reggie

  • Positive feedback from 'Sprinkles' project

    Although clinical data is not yet available, anecdotal evidence suggests The Foundation’s collaborative trial of a nutritional supplement called ‘Sprinkles’ is already improving the lives of Indigenous infants. Eight remote communities have been taking part in the project which aims to combat chronic anaemia in Indigenous children under the age of two. A project meeting was held recently in Batchelor, in the Northern Territory, for those involved in implementing the program at a community level.

  • Trachoma

    Trachoma is a disease that blinds one person every 15 minutes. But it can be stopped. Our goal is to eliminate Trachoma by 2020. It's an achievable goal and organisations around the world are uniting like never before. Our plan is set. Our resolve is clear. Our promise must be kept - join us in a campaign that will reach the eyes of millions.

  • Long term support best to fix Indigenous food supply

    Long term support, not crisis intervention, is needed to fix remote Indigenous food supply says Brian Doolan, CEO of The Fred Hollows Foundation. Recent reports of a food supply crisis and emergency food drops in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands of South Australia are an over simplification of nutritional issues affecting Indigenous people, not only there, but in many remote parts of Australia, said Mr Doolan.

  • Indigenous housing project wins International award

    A program supported by The Fred Hollows Foundation, which is giving Indigenous Australians in remote communities access to safe and well functioning housing, has won a 2011 World Habitat Award.  The Housing for Health Program, run by the Health Habitat, beat an impressive field of over 250 entries from around the globe to take out the prestigious award which recognises practical and innovative solutions to current housing needs and problems.

  • Celebrate Indigenous Literacy Day

    Indigenous Literacy Day is an opportunity for the wider community to help improve the lives of Aboriginal Australians.  Individuals, schools, booksellers and publishers across the country are raising money to provide books for Aboriginal children living in isolated regions on Indigenous Literacy Day (7 September). The ability to read and write are key social determinants of good health. In the Northern Territory alone, only one in five children living in very remote Indigenous communities can read at the accepted minimum standard.

  • Gabi Hollows celebrates the birth of land rights

    Gabi Hollows has just returned from the small township of Kalkarindji in the Northern Territory where she celebrated the 45th anniversary of the Wave Hill walk-off.  Gabi was joined by Australians from all over the country who came to mark the milestone at a three-day celebration, the Freedom Festival. "The Wave Hill strikers laid the groundwork for the modern Indigenous land rights movement," says Gabi.

  • Indigenous food security

    The Fred Hollows Foundation has called on the Australian Government to address critical gaps in the food security of remote Indigenous communities – questioning a report released yesterday which suggests that more viable stores means ‘more money is being spent on healthy foods'. 

  • Indigenous Literacy Project

    Exciting changes in 2011 For the past five years, The Fred Hollows Foundation has worked in partnership with The Indigenous Literacy Project (ILP), a national book industry initiative raising funds to address the crisis in literacy in remote Indigenous communities.  

  • Investment in Indigenous health and wellbeing is working

    Federal and State Government expenditure on Indigenous Australians is improving lives and will get even better results if there is greater consultation with those directly affected, says the CEO of The Fred Hollows Foundation, Brian Doolan.  Mr Doolan was commenting on the release of The Federal Government's Strategic Review of Indigenous Expenditure.

  • Keeping Fred's dream alive

    The late Professor Fred Hollows spent most of his life working to end avoidable blindness and to improve the health of Indigenous Australians. Fred and Gabi Hollows and friends set up The Fred Hollows Foundation in 1992 so his work would continue, and we take our lead from Fred.

  • Improving Indigenous health

    Professor Fred Hollows worked tirelessly to tackle the crippling health conditions and inequities experienced by Indigenous Australians.

  • Gulin Gulin women release art book to keep culture alive

    An arts and crafts book created by Aboriginal women living in Jawoyn country, east of Katherine, has been launched as part of NAIDOC Week celebrations in the Northern Territory. 

  • Restoring sight to the blind could be a 'flagship' of aid program

    The Fred Hollows Foundation has welcomed the Federal Government’s response to the Foreign Aid Effectiveness Review, with CEO Brian Doolan suggesting that blindness prevention will aim to be a ‘flagship’ within the Government’s regional focus on disability.  Recommendation 13 of the aid review, which was adopted today by Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd, proposes that a small number of ‘flagships' for Australia's aid program be identified ‘where Australia would aim to be a significant and high-quality contributor and receive recognition for its efforts'.

  • Celebrating NAIDOC Week 2011

    NAIDOC Week is an opportunity to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

  • Providing specialist eye care in the Top End

    People in the Top End's most remote communities have access to specialist eye health services thanks to a Foundation-supported initiative that aims to improve the health and wellbeing of Indigenous Australians. Two-year-old Freda was one of 20 Indigenous patients examined recently by visiting optometrist, John Crimmings, in a remote community 100 km north of Darwin.

  • Non-government organisations best placed to improve Indigenous health

    The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has called on the Australian Government to work closely with local communities and organisations such as The Fred Hollows Foundation to improve Indigenous health. According to AMA President, Dr Steve Hambleton, "The AMA believes that non-government organisations such as Oxfam, The Fred Hollows Foundation, NACCHO, World Vision, and Save the Children have a successful history and the necessary hands-on experience to improve community capacity."

  • Australia

    Professor Fred Hollows worked tirelessly to tackle the crippling health conditions and inequities experienced by Indigenous Australians.

  • Gilbray

    Special report by Gabi Hollows, Founding DirectorAustralia: Gilbray Alum is a real charmer, 70 years old, and a true gentleman; warm, softly spoken and with a quiet, wise way about him.  

  • Hollows calls on G8 to help eliminate trachoma

    The Fred Hollows Foundation has joined an international campaign by eye health organisations, calling on G8 member nations to commit to the elimination of trachoma by the year 2020. Trachoma is a blinding eye disease present in 57 countries, including Australia. Globally, 1.2 billion people live in trachoma-endemic areas - primarily in the poorest communities in the developing world.

  • Langaliki

    Australia: More than anything else, respected artist Langaliki Langeliki wanted to see again so that she could paint again. And, she wanted to be able to visit her loved ones. Langaliki lives in the community of Pukatja, also known as Ernabella, 435 km south east of Alice Springs. She paints in the colourful and dramatic style for which the Ernabella region is famous.

  • Snowy

    Special report by Gabi Hollows, Founding Director Australia: Snowy McDonald is one of the last old-style stockmen. His sight had deteriorated to a cloudy ‘soup’ but, with the help of The Foundation, one simple operation changed all that.

  • Reggie

    Special report by Gabi Hollows, Founding Director Australia: The impact of even one fairly simple operation can be huge, particularly with Aboriginal patients, because of the role of the elders in the community.

  • In the outback

    In 1968, after seeing two Gurindji elders as patients in the Prince of Wales Hospital eye clinic, Fred was invited to fly up to a Gurindji camp in the Northern Territory with a couple of other doctors. The poor standard of health in the camp, particularly eye health, was a shock. “It was like something out of the medical history books," he said, "eye diseases of a kind and degree that hadn't been seen in western society for generations. The neglect this implied, the suffering and wasted quality of human life were appalling.”

  • Photographers

    A number of professional photographers allow us to use their remarkable images on this website and in our promotional and educational materials. We thank them for supporting The Fred Hollows Foundation. You can read about each of these photographers below…

  • Ambassadors and supporters

    The Fred Hollows Foundation has a dedicated group of people who support us by helping to promote our work around the globe. Check out their profiles below... Aaron Davey – AFL player Outstanding Indigenous footballer Aaron Davey won Best First Year Player at the AFL Players Association MVP Awards in 2004. Aaron is originally from Darwin and is very interested in The Foundation’s Indigenous Program in Australia’s Northern Territory.

  • Brian Doolan, CEO

    Brian Doolan strongly believes in social and economic justice and says becoming Chief Executive Officer of The Fred Hollows Foundation in 2005 brought together what he’s been working for his whole life. With his experience and commitment, Brian provides the leadership that has enabled The Foundation to grow and become an even bigger player in health, eye care and blindness prevention.

  • Guiding values

    Our guiding values are based on the principles and approach of the late Professor Fred Hollows, an internationally acclaimed eye surgeon and an activist for social justice who championed the right of all people to high quality and affordable eye care and good health.

  • Close the Gap Day - March 24

    March 24 is Close the Gap Day, a chance to highlight the significant work being done to improve Indigenous health and life expectancy in Australia.

  • A plan for action

    The Foundation today launched a four-year plan to achieve ambitious results in Australia and overseas. CEO Brian Doolan said the Strategic Framework 2011-2014 outlines four major objectives and the steps The Foundation must take to meet them. “Fred dreamt of a world where no person is needlessly blind and Indigenous Australians exercise their right to good health,” Doolan says.

  • Learning from Indigenous health

    Eye care specialists from South East Asia are now better equipped to reach people in need of surgery after learning new approaches to health promotion in the Northern Territory.

  • Fresh food store for Indigenous community

    With The Foundation’s support, an Indigenous community in the Northern Territory has established its own store, offering fresh food, affordable groceries, clothes and other supplies. Few Australians could imagine life without quick and easy access to food. No fruit and vegetables, no milk, and no regular tucker at the corner store or supermarket. Food shortages lead directly to malnutrition, particularly in children who need a variety of vitamins and minerals to develop and get a fair start in life.

  • Indigenous eye health milestone in Central Australia

    More than 500 sight-saving operations have now been performed through a program in Central Australia coordinated by The Fred Hollows Foundation. Thirty-eight people received eye surgery in Alice Springs during the week-long intensive surgery session which ended over the weekend. A total of 41 procedures on patients took the full number of operations performed under the program to 512.

  • Indigenous eye intensive announced

    The Fred Hollows Foundation is preparing to launch a week-long eye intensive for Indigenous people in desperate need of cataract surgery. The Foundation’s Indigenous Programs Manager, Joy McLaughlin, says an estimated 50 cataract patients will have their sight restored at Alice Springs Hospital later this month. “The biggest eye health challenge facing Indigenous people is to reduce the current rate of blindness, which is six times the rate for non-Aboriginal people,” McLaughlin says.

  • Staff work together for reconciliation

    New partnerships, staff development and increased cultural awareness are some of the workplace results The Foundation has achieved through its Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). RAPs are an initiative of Reconciliation Australia. They seek to help organisations and businesses set goals and achieve improvements to bring about reconciliation. The ultimate aim is to close the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and other Australians. A report released this week sets out The Foundation’s progress against 2009 targets.

  • Working with Indigenous Australians: 2009 Highlights

    When it came to the health and rights of Indigenous Australians Professor Fred Hollows never shirked a challenge. Fred took eye care to some of Australia's most remote Indigenous communities, was at the forefront of the establishment of Aboriginal controlled medical centres and never hesitated to tell Australia it needed to do better. That's why The Foundation's work amongst 55 Indigenous communities goes beyond eye care, helping build strong and sustainable health systems.

  • Government to boost Indigenous eye care

    The Foundation welcomes today's announcement by the Australian Government to deliver new or expanded eye care services to 106 rural and remote Indigenous communities. The Minister for Indigenous Health, Warren Snowdon, said the $6.5 million boost to the Australian Government's eye health program will cover costs for optometrists to provide services to many remote Indigenous communities across the Northern Territory, Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania.

  • Sight restored to 48 Indigenous patients in Central Australia

    Eye health workers in Central Australia have restored sight to 48 Indigenous patients from remote communities during a week-long surgery session in Alice Springs. The Central Australian Integrated Eye Health Program is a partnership between The Australian Government, The Northern Territory Government, Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, Anyinginyi Health Aboriginal Corporation, The Eye Foundation and The Fred Hollows Foundation.

  • Better eye health services for Central Australia

    The Fred Hollows Foundation has pledged to raise $3 million to construct a new eye unit at Alice Springs Hospital. All people in Central Australia and Barkly will have access to quality eye health and vision care services through a continuing partnership agreement between Central Australian Aboriginal Congress Inc., Anyinginyi Health Aboriginal Corporation, The Fred Hollows Foundation, and the Northern Territory and Commonwealth Governments.

  • Close the Gap Day - March 25

    The Foundation is a proud member of the Close the Gap campaign, working to end the disparity in health between Indigenous and non Indigenous Australians within a generation. The theme of this year’s Close the Gap day is “Let’s get it right,” focussing on the need to develop a detailed long term plan of action to close the gap as committed to by the Prime Minister in the Statement of Intent he signed in March 2008.

  • Providing opportunity in the Jawoyn region

    The Fred Hollows Foundation and the Jawoyn Association are providing opportunities for young Indigenous people to interact and learn from their elders through hearing the stories of the Jawoyn people, culture and history. The Foundation provided activities for children to work directly with songmen, dancers, artists and story-tellers at the Jawoyn Association's recent Annual General Meeting held at Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge). Historically, this site was used as a meeting place where Jawoyn people would gather for important ceremonies.

  • Foundation calls for reinstatement Racial Discrimination Act

    The Fred Hollows Foundation supports calls for the Federal Government to reinstate the Racial Discrimination Act immediately, as recommended by a report released today by the Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association on the Northern Territory Emergency Response. “Our view is that the Racial Discrimination Act should be put back in place immediately,” The Foundation’s CEO Brian Doolan said.   “Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory have been without the protections enjoyed by other Australians for almost three years.”

  • Ruby Hunter: an inspiration to all

    The Fred Hollows Foundation is saddened by the sudden passing of Indigenous singer/songwriter, Ruby Hunter. Ms Hunter was a great friend of The Foundation through her work promoting health and literacy and her ability to inspire the many people she met on her visits to community. As part of last year’s Melbourne Writers Festival, Ms Hunter performed at The Songs for Stories concert to raise funds for urgently needed literacy resources in remote Indigenous communities.