About The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ

Four years after he was diagnosed with cancer, and knowing he didn’t have much longer to live, Fred and Gabi Hollows started The Foundation around their kitchen table with a group of friends and supporters. They promised Fred they’d keep on fighting for a world where everyone, rich or poor, can access high-quality and affordable eye care. To this very day, that’s what we do.

In 1993, The Fred Hollows Foundation opened an office in New Zealand. In the early days we raised money to support Fred's intraocular lens laboratories in Eritrea and Nepal. Since 2002 we’ve been restoring sight in the Pacific, where an estimated 9 out of 10 people who are blind don’t need to be.

We focus on preventable and treatable diseases such as cataracts and diabetes eye disease. We train local doctors, nurses and health care workers and give them the technology they need to recognise, diagnose, refer, and treat eye problems in their communities. We build new clinics and come up with innovative ways to reach people in need, like our Mobile Eye Clinic in Fiji. We undertake research to improve our understanding of avoidable blindness, and use our findings to bring about much-needed change.

Our ultimate goal is to hand over the reins to our dedicated and passionate team of eye care professionals in the Pacific. After years of training at the Pacific Eye Institute in Fiji, these are the people who dedicate their lives to restoring sight in their own communities. Together they are the future of eye care in the Pacific.

We’re independent, not-for-profit, politically unaligned and secular.

With your help, we’re working just as tirelessly as Fred did to end avoidable blindness. We’re fighting injustice, building local capacity, and staying true to our values. Thank you for helping Fred’s work live on. We really couldn’t do it without you.

The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ is incorporated under the Charitable Trusts Act 1957 and is approved as a legal charity under the following revenue acts: Section CB 4(1) C, Income Tax Act 1994 and Section 73(1) Estate and Gift Duties Act 1968.

The Foundation was registered with the Charities Commission as a charitable entity under the Charities Act 2005 on 1 May 2008. Our registration number is: CC23722.