Fred Hollows was a New Zealand-born ophthalmologist and eye surgeon who dedicated his life to restoring sight to people in need. He was particularly passionate about helping people in developing countries who suffered from preventable blindness. In his lifetime, he performed tens of thousands of surgeries and helped to train many local eye surgeons, enabling them to continue his work after he was gone.
Hollows first became aware of the extent of the problem of avoidable blindness while working in Australia in the 1960s. He was shocked to see how many people were suffering from treatable eye conditions, and he made it his mission to do something about it. In 1974, he founded the Fred Hollows Foundation, which aimed to restore sight and end avoidable blindness around the world.
One of Hollows' most significant achievements was his work in Nepal. When he first arrived there in the 1980s, it was estimated that around 90% of the country's blind population could have had their sight restored through simple surgical procedures. Hollows and his team of surgeons worked tirelessly to help as many people as they could, performing surgeries and training local surgeons to continue their work.
Over the course of his career, Hollows performed thousands of sight-restoring surgeries, helped to train hundreds of eye surgeons, and established many eye care programs in developing countries. He was a tireless advocate for the cause of ending avoidable blindness, and his work has had a profound and lasting impact.
Hollows passed away in 1993, but his legacy lives on through the work of the Fred Hollows Foundation. Today, the Foundation continues to work in more than 25 countries, restoring sight and improving the lives of people around the world.