Grant helps restore sight to Pacific

The international eye care and blindness prevention agency set up by New Zealander Fred Hollows says it can finally begin to help blind people and those at risk of blindness in the Pacific.

There had been a serious lack of data in the Pacific about the number of blind people, those with preventable blindness and the diseases that could lead to blindness, said the Fred Hollows Foundation.

But a grant from the New Zealand Agency for International Development of $630,000 over the next five years will allow it to set up a database of blind and at-risk people and establish a programme to deal with the growing level of blindness in the region.

The foundation's New Zealand manager, Carmel Williams, said the programme would mean the foundation finally knew "what we are dealing with" around poorer Pacific countries.

Fred Hollows established the foundation to restore sight to people in poor countries who had been blinded by cataracts.

In a relatively minor surgical procedure, the foundation implants an artificial lens to restore a patient's sight. The operation in poorer countries costs about $25.

Ms Williams said the new funding would also provide hardware and training for nurses, who were expected to become the backbone of the Pacific eye care programme.

"If you have got good eyecare nurses they can do the primary stuff," she said.

"They can deal with infections and find the people with cataracts and diabetes and have them ready for when a doctor visits."

She said smaller Pacific countries spent about US$50 ($86) a person on healthcare compared with US$3000 ($5180) in New Zealand.

Eyecare had low priority and blind people or those with eye problems in the outlying villages seldom came forward for treatment.

The foundation would try to convince Pacific Governments that preventing blindness was cheaper than treating it.

The high level of blindness in the Pacific got worse every year, she said, and had a significant impact on the economy of the region.

Fred Hollows

1929 Born April 9, in Dunedin.

Arrived in Sydney to work as an ophthalmologist.

Began organising the National Trachoma and Eye Health Programme for remote communities

Started training eye surgeons in Nepal

Launched the Fred Hollows Foundation, which has since helped to restore sight to 1,000,000 cataract-blind people around the world.

Died February 10, in Sydney.

Contact details for the Fred Hollows Foundation in New Zealand

Donation line: 0800 227 229

Email: nzfred@hollows.org

Facsimile: (09) 623 0703

Telephone: (09) 630 4030

Postal address: Private Bag 56908 Dominion Rd, Auckland

Herald Feature: Health

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- NZPA