Empowering Vision

ANANKE Speci al Spotl i gh t Edi ti on

Empower ing

VISIO N Celebr at ing 30 year s of Impact

The Fred Hollows Foundation

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Pr oduced by Sabin Muzaf far - Founder, Execut ive Edit or Ananke PO Box: 125344 m edia@ an an k em ag.com www.an an k em ag.com Con ten t can on l y be r epu bl ish ed with pr oper accr editation to An an k e (website URL), wr iter 's n am e an d l in k to th e or igin al ar ticl e.

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Celebr at ing 30 year s of changemak ing On e tak es th e gift of sigh t for gr an ted til l on e is eith er affected by it per son al l y or witn esses th e su ffer in g cau sed by it. Seein g, in deed, is bel ievin g. Feel in g is m or e!

It was abou t two year ago wh en An an k e con n ected an d par tn er ed with Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation . It was th r ou gh th e won der fu l M ah a Oda wh o spok e abou t th e ch an gem ak in g wor k of th e or gan ization , h ow vision im pair m en t an d l oss exacer bates gen der in equ ity an d deepen s th e cycl e of pover ty th r ou gh l oss of au ton om y.

Th is two-year jou r n ey of l ear n in g abou t th e Fou n dation , its wor k on th e gr ou n d, or gan ical l y im pl em en tin g str ategic pr ogr am s an d en abl in g vision for m or e th an th r ee m il l ion peopl e wor l dwide h as been eye-open in g (pun intended).

It al so m ak es u s r eal ize an d vocifer ou sl y advocate th e im por tan ce of pl acin g eye car e in h eal th pr ior ities an d th at too th r ou gh a devel opm en t fr am ewor k so th at n o on e is n eedl essl y bl in d, m ost im por tan tl y,n o on e is l eft beh in d!

Sabin

Rea l St or i es Rea l Li ves

?I can?t give much t o her, but I am glad t his w ill let Sant oshi have a bet t er life.?

Locat ion: Nepal Name: Sant oshi Age: 28 Year s Tar a Devi Adh ik ar i, 70, h ad a h ar d l ife. After h er h u sban d passed away m an y year s ago, Tar a was for ced to ju ggl e wor k an d tak in g car e of h er dau gh ter ,San tosh i Adh ik ar i, 28.

San tosh i h as Down syn dr om e an d depen ds on h er m oth er for al m ost ever yth in g. Sh e n ever h ad th e oppor tu n ity to go to sch ool or wor k .

?If an yth in g h appen s to m e, wh o wil l l ook after m y dau gh ter ??

A cou pl e of year s ago, an oth er bl ow str u ck th is al r eady fr agil e h ou seh ol d wh en Tar a star ted to go bl in d.

W ith n o on e to l ook after h er dau gh ter ,San tosh i accom pan ied Tar a to th e eye cam p at th e Pu l l ah ar i M on aster y.

At th e cam p, th e m edical team m ade a su r pr isin g discover y,San tosh i al so h ad bil ater al catar act.

When Sant oshi?s pat ches wer e r emoved, and ever yone not iced a new ener gy about her.

Un awar e of th e bl in din g con dition , Tar a didn ?t r eal ise th at San tosh i?s poor vision con tr ibu ted to San tosh i?s in h ibition an d r el u ctan ce to do th in gs by h er sel f. ?I can ?t give m u ch to h er ,bu t I am gl ad th is wil l l et San tosh i h ave a better l ife.?

Dr San du k Ru it oper ated on both patien ts in l ess th an 30 m in u tes.

Th e n ext m or n in g, San tosh i?s patch es wer e r em oved, an d ever yon e n oticed a n ew en er gy abou t h er.

Sh e cou l dn ?t stop sm il in g an d th an k in g Dr Ru it.

Tar a was h appil y su r pr ised to see h er dau gh ter in ter actin g with oth er peopl e, bu t above al l , sh e was pl eased th at San tosh i h as n ow gain ed con fiden ce, l essen h er depen den cies an d h ave a better l ife.

"I w ish I could play like ot her k ids."

Rea l St or i es Rea l Li ves

Locat ion: Tiw i - Kir udi, Kwale, Mombasa Name: Mbar uk u Age: 10 Year s

"I wish I cou l d pl ay l ik e oth er k ids."

Th ese ar e th e wor ds M bar u k u Gode wh isper s to h is m oth er as th e voices of k ids pl ayin g footbal l in th eir n eigh bou r h ood r each es th em .

M bar u k u is 10 year s ol d an d wou l d h ave been in cl ass th r ee wer e it n ot for h is poor eyesigh t, wh ich m ean t h e h ad to r epeat cl ass on e twice.

M bar u k u ?s par tial bl in dn ess is wh at for ced h im to stay at h om e, h an gin g ou t u n der th e sh ade of a tr ee an d u n der th e watch fu l eye of h is m oth er.

M bar u k u 's favou r ite spor t is footbal l .

Bu t becau se of h is poor vision , h e wou l d r u n in th e wr on g dir ection on th e pitch , an d often get h it on th e h ead by th e bal l . Th is m ean t h is fr ien ds r ar el y l et h im join an y m atch es. M bar u k u tr ied so h ar d to fit

in with h is fr ien ds an d pl ay l ik e oth er ch il dr en . Th e l ittl e boy star ted h avin g issu es with h is vision wh en h e star ted n u r ser y sch ool . Fr om a ten der age, h e wou l d squ in t h is eyes wh en tr yin g to l ocate an yth in g with in th e h ou se. ?At fir st I th ou gh t h is eyes wer e stil l devel opin g an d it wasn ?t of m u ch con cer n to m e,? M bar u k u ?s m oth er , M waju n gu , adm its. In sch ool , th e teach er s wou l d com pl ain an d even com m en t on th e r epor t car d th at h e was an ar r ogan t stu den t. Th ey said th at h e wou l d n ever h eed th eir in str u ction s or r ead an yth in g on th e bl ack boar d. M waju n gu u sed to won der wh at cou l d h ave pr om pted su ch a com m en t fr om th e teach er s. ?I cou l dn ?t u n der stan d becau se I n ever saw m y son in th at l igh t.

M bar u k u h as al ways been a discipl in ed an d pl ayfu l boy despite h im squ in tin g a l ot.? M bar u k u ?s m oth er opted to l et h im go to sch ool on l y twice a week so th at h e wou l dn ?t feel l eft ou t. ?H e on l y goes th er e to in ter act with oth er k ids, h e bar el y atten ds cl asses. Lettin g h im stay fu l l y at h om e wou l d m ean th at h is fu tu r e wou l d be at stak e,? sh e expl ain s. ?M y gr eatest fear h as al ways been th at M bar u k u wou l d go bl in d on e day. H e

wou l d al ways com pl ain of h avin g cl ou dy vision . ?I didn ?t th in k h e wou l d ever be (l ik e oth er ch il dr en ) In h is ear l ier stages of l ife, h e was h el pl ess. Seein g h im stil l in th e sam e state isn 't en cou r agin g at al l ,? sh e adds. W ith su ch dam n in g com m en ts fr om th e teach er s, M waju n gu opted to visit an oph th al m ol ogist h opin g th at h er son wou l d get h el p. M oth er an d son tr ied

My gr eat est fear has always been t hat Mbar uk u would go blind one day

to access eye car e ser vices at a pr ivate facil ity. After car efu l exam in ation , it was m ade k n own to th em th at M bar u k u h ad bil ater al catar act. Th e h ospital dem an ded 40,000 Ken yan sh il l in gs ($AU500) for M bar u k u to get su r ger y.

Bein g a sin gl e m oth er of two, M waju n gu cou l dn ?t r aise th e cash , l et al on e cover th e in itial cost of th e con su l tation . Despite n ot h avin g th e r equ ir ed am ou n t, M waju n gu n ever gave u p on h er qu est to get h el p for h er son . M waju n gu m ade sever al attem pts to h ave th e h ospital r edu ce th e cost of th e su r ger y. Sh e h oped th at th ey wou l d give h er gl asses or even eye dr ops to pr ovide som e assistan ce, bu t th ey in sisted th at su r ger y h ad to don e. Each tim e, sh e

r etu r n ed h om e h opin g for a m ir acl e to im pr ove h er son ?s situ ation .

Du r in g th is tim e, a Com m u n ity H eal th Vol u n teer in for m ed M waju n gu th at Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation wou l d com e to h er aid. ?At fir st, I sh u n n ed th e idea becau se I th ou gh t sh e was jok in g. I on l y got to bel ieve it wh en I m et you gu ys (Th e Fou n dation )," sh e says. ?I am gl ad of th e effor ts Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation took ju st to en su r e th at M bar u k u got h is eyesigh t r estor ed.

Th r ou gh ou t th e h ospital pr ocess, I cou l d see th e dedication th ey h ad in assistin g m e. M bar u k u h ad a su ccessfu l su r ger y,an d h is vision is r estor ed. You cou l d tel l th at I h ad been favou r ed by God. M y son , M bar u k u is al l gr own u p, yet h e stil l

n eeded m y fu l l atten tion l ik e a baby. I cou l dn ?t atten d to m y oth er du ties with peace of m in d as I h ad to tak e car e of h im ,? sh e says. ?W ith h is vision r estor ed, I am m or e th an h appy.

If I was in a position to gift Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation , I wou l d del igh tedl y do th at. M y son h as a fu tu r e cou r tesy of th em . I am con fiden t th at h e can get to sch ool an d bu il d a fu tu r e for h im sel f. I am n ow r el ieved. I n ever k n ew th at su ch

peopl e do exist, bu t I h ave seen th eir faith fu l n ess in ser vin g oth er s,? sh e says, with tear s in h er eyes.

I never k new t hat such people do exist , but I have seen t heir fait hf ulness in ser ving ot her s

Gir ls w it h vision impair ment and avoidable blindness ar e less likely t o at t end school t han vision-impair ed boys. This pushes t hem int o a deeper cycle of pover t y as t hey ar e unable t o wor k or ear n and ar e mor e likely t o suf fer f r om var ious healt h issues and ar e even less likely t o educat e t heir ow n childr en.

Dr iving Change To Building Sust ainable Healt h Syst ems Im pr oving Com m unity H ealth Outcom es

The Fr ed H ollows Founda t i on Cha i r , Ja ne M a dden speaks with Ananke?s Sa bi n M uza ffa r about em bedding gender equality in the or ganization?s wor k on the gr ound, im pr oving wom en?s health outcom es thr ough awar eness and enabling com m unity developm ent for sustainable eye health r esults.

Tel l u s abou t y ou r sel f an d h ow d i d y ou r l ov e f or i n t er n at i on al d ev el op m en t an d com m u n i t y ser v i ce begi n ? W h at w as y ou r i n sp i r at i on ?

W el l , I h ave to tel l you th at th e in spir ation was m y fam il y. M y par en ts ar e m y in spir ation becau se th ey wer e ver y passion ate abou t social ju stice an d em path y. I was bor n in to a fam il y wh er e it was cen tr al to r em em ber th at ever y l ife was an d is of equ al val u e. Th is is wh at th ey tau gh t m e an d th ey tr eated ever yon e, r egar dl ess of th eir social statu s, with r espect.

I th in k it is al so a n atu r al exten sion th en to con tem pl ate th at if ever y l ife is of equ al val u e, wh y do we h ave so m an y peopl e, 800 m il l ion peopl e for exam pl e, goin g to bed h u n gr y. You k n ow, som e of th e in ju stices in th e wor l d, it ju st does n ot seem r igh t. An d so it was with th at passion th at r eal l y dr ove m e to be in vol ved in com m u n ity wor k . I was for tu n ate to h ave l ived in Japan du r in g m y sch ool an d u n iver sity days.

I was goin g to becom e a doctor an d even got accepted. Goin g to Japan , l ear n in g th e l an gu age an d wor k in g in ter n ation al l y r eal l y gave m e a sen se of wh at I r eal l y wan ted to do, wh ich was gl obal dipl om acy,in ter n ation al tr ade or devel opm en t.

An d th en I em bar k ed on stu dyin g econ om ics, l aw as wel l as l an gu ages an d becam e par t of ou r dipl om atic ser vice for m an y year s. So you can see fr om m y ear l y ch il dh ood, I've al ways been in ter ested in h ow to m ak e th e wor l d a better pl ace. I've h ad th e oppor tu n ity to do wh at I l ove th r ou gh m y fam il y,car eer th at I've h ad in th e gover n m en t, an d n ow al so th r ou gh m y in vol vem en t with com m u n ity pr ojects an d gr eat or gan ization s l ik e Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation . To do ju st a l ittl e bit to h el p m ak e th e wor l d better.

K eep i n g i n m i n d y ou r i m m en se bod y of w or k , h ow i m p or t an t i s t h e con n ect i on bet w een p u bl i c p ol i cy , d i p l om acy an d i n t er n at i on al d ev el op m en t an d w h y ?

I th in k it's in cr edibl y con n ected becau se we'r e al l con n ected as gl obal citizen s. Th e ch an ges th at we've h ad, in cl u din g th in gs l ik e tech n ol ogy an d tr avel or even disease bu r den m ean s th at al l of u s ar e on th is on e pl an et

I've had t he oppor t unit y t o do what I love t hr ough my family, car eer t hat I've had in t he gover nment , and now also t hr ough my involvement w it h communit y pr oject s and gr eat or ganizat ions like The Fr ed Hollows Foundat ion. To do just a lit t le bit t o help make t he wor ld bet t er.

togeth er. So th e l in k s between dipl om acy an d in ter n ation al devel opm en t, I bel ieve, ar e ver y str on g. I th in k n ow wh en we ar e com in g ou t of COVID, it's par ticu l ar l y cr itical th at we th in k abou t wh er e we ar e as com m u n ities. W h er e we ar e as a gl obal society,especial l y wh en ch al l en ges ar e on th e r ise. Food secu r ity h as wor sen ed du r in g COVID. Th e bu r den of gen der h as r eal l y exacer bated du r in g th e pan dem ic. I feel th at we'r e al m ost at a til tin g poin t in ter m s of h u m an su ffer in g. Bu t over th e n ext 12 to 24 m on th s, we've r eal l y got an oppor tu n ity to tr y an d cl aw back som e of th e gain s th at we h ad sadl y l ost du r in g COVID. H opefu l l y,we con tin u e tr yin g to get towar ds su stain abl e devel opm en t goal s oth er wise we wil l star t to spir al down war ds an d fu r th er decr ease ou r gl obal poten tial .

You h av e qu ot ed Fr ed H ol l ow s f am ou s com m en t i n an i n t er v i ew , ?W ed i scov er ou r ow n h u m an i t y w h en w e h el p ot h er s?? h ow i n y ou r op i n i on h as t h e Fou n d at i on en abl ed an d i n cor p or at ed t h i s beau t i f u l i d eal i n i t s w or k an d v i si on ?

It's n ot ju st th e wor k th at th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation does, it is al so th e ph il osoph y th at's so special . Al l of u s on th e boar d, at differ en t l evel s, ar e in spir ed by th e m an y won der fu l qu otation s fr om Pr ofessor H ol l ows wh o h im sel f was a gr eat h u m an itar ian .

W or k in g with th e Fou n dation on an d off for over 30 year s an d th en join in g th e boar d abou t two year s ago, you get to witn ess a l egacy th at is m on u m en tal . You get to exper ien ce h ow th e en tir e or gan ization is gu ided by Fr ed. In boar d m eetin gs, especial l y wh en we ar e l ook in g for sol u tion s, we often say wh at wou l d Fr ed do.

Th er e is an oth er qu otation wh er e h e said ?teach th e teach er s fir st an d th ey teach oth er s.?

I th in k it?s r eal l y in fl u en tial in sh apin g wh er e we wor k an d h ow we wor k . Ou r pr ior ity at th e Fou n dation is str en gth en in g h eal th system s an d we'r e u sin g th at ph il osoph y,for exam pl e, of wor k in g with com m u n ities an d th e teach er s to r eal l y dr ive th e pu bl ic h eal th m essages on th e gr ou n d.

It is r eal l y im por tan t to u n der stan d th at if even good wor k is bein g don e on th e fl y,it doesn 't

You get t o exper ience how t he ent ir e or ganizat ion is guided by Fr ed.

Ther e is anot her quot at ion wher e he said ?t each t he t eacher s f ir st and t hey t each ot her s.?

str en gth en th e com m u n ity. W e wan t to wor k with com m u n ities su stain abl y wh ich essen tial l y m ean s th at wh en Fr ed H ol l ows peopl e l eave, th e com m u n ities ar e em power ed to con tin u e an d th en teach oth er com m u n ities. It's ver y m u ch abou t dr ivin g ch an ge in ter m s of bu il din g h eal th system s with th e com m u n ities th em sel ves gen er atin g an d im pr ovin g th eir own h eal th ou tcom es.

W h at i s y ou r v i si on f or t h e Fr ed H ol l ow s Fou n d at i on ?

Th is m ay sou n d a bit pr edictabl e, bu t I do th in k we h ave th is str on g vision abou t a wor l d in wh ich n o on e is n eedl essl y bl in d. An d it is m y vision , absol u tel y! If you can m ak e a differ en ce, you sh ou l d step u p an d tr y an d m ak e th e differ en ce.

W e h ave peopl e wh o ar e bl in d or vision im pair ed an d ju st th r ou gh a sm al l effor t, a ver y sm al l fin an cial am ou n t, th ese in dividu al s can l ead a m or e pr odu ctive l ife. W h il e th e n u m ber of peopl e goin g bl in d is decr easin g, th e bu r den of vision im pair m en t is in cr easin g gl obal l y an d we ar e stil l so far beh in d th is vision of r eal izin g a wor l d wh er e n o on e is n eedl essl y bl in d an d to ach ieve th is, we n eed to k eep on at it? wor k in g for th is vision con tin u ou sl y.

W h at i n y ou r op i n i on ar e som e of t h e m ost si gn i f i can t ch al l en ges i n t h e i n t er n at i on al d ev el op m en t sect or an d by ex t en si on i n t h e f i el d of ey e h eal t h ?

OK, th at's a h u ge qu estion . you k n ow h er e we ar e in l ate 2022 an d after al l m y r eadin g an d assessm en t of th e UN's wor k an d th e W or l d H eal th Or gan ization . W e've r eal l y got a m ajor setback fr om COVID, disr u ptin g peopl e?s

l ives an d l ivel ih oods. Pr ogr ess was sl ow even befor e we h ad COVID; bu t th e n ew r eal ity th at th e UN estim ates is pr esen tl y 120 m il l ion m or e peopl e h ave been pu sh ed back in to pover ty.

Th er e ar e th ose wh o m igh t say th ese ar e ju st statistics. Bu t, wh en you con sider even on e l ife bein g im pacted by u n n ecessar y pover ty an d th en th in k of th e 120

m il l ion peopl e su ffer in g, it's a ter r ibl e th in g.

Th er e's l ots an d l ots of dem an d on In ter n ation al Devel opm en t. Bu t I do th in k eyes sigh t is r eal l y im por tan t an d we've got l ots of r esear ch fr om Th e Lan cet, th e UN, W H O sh owin g th at it's a r eal l y cost effective m ean s of u n l ock in g h u m an poten tial .

So if som eon e fr om a m ar gin al ized com m u n ity becom es bl in d th r ou gh an in fectiou s disease or oth er th in gs; an d you h el p th at per son th r ou gh for in stan ce a sm al l don ation to h el p with th e su r ger y; you ar e actu al l y givin g th at per son , m an or wom an or ch il d th e poten tial to be m or e pr odu ctive in th e com m u n ity. Th is is h ow you en abl e th em to m ove ou t of th e pover ty cycl e.

Based on al l th e wor k an d r esear ch , we k n ow for a fact th at eye h eal th is ver y cost effective.

At th e Fou n dation , ou r com m itm en t is to str ive an d m ak e su r e n o on e is n eedl essl y bl in d or vision im pair ed. As l on g as we k eep on fu n d r aisin g, gettin g good spon sor sh ips, su ppor t an d gettin g th e wor d ou t, we can ach ieve th is

vision .

About 90 per cent of people who ar e blind ar e women and t hey ar e living in pover t y.

They've got near ly ever y for m of blindness and vision challenges.

Th e Fou n dation is wor k in g with gover n m en ts an d in ter n ation al fu n der s. Eye h eal th n eeds a l ot of action at m u l tipl e l evel s an d th at is exactl y wh er e th e Fou n dation is str ivin g to scal e. W e ar e al r eady active in over 30 cou n tr ies an d do a l ot of in ter n ation al pu bl ic h eal th m essagin g for exam pl e th r ou gh Th e Lan cet. Th e oth er th in g I r eal l y wan t to say is th e su stain abl e devel opm en t appr oach to th e wor k we'r e doin g is cr itical . For th e Fou n dation , su stain abl e devel opm en t pr in cipl es in ever yth in g we do is r eal l y im por tan t. W e don 't ju st go in an d fix eyes an d th en l eave. It's abou t m ak in g su r e th at th e pu bl ic h eal th m essages ar e th er e, th e com m u n ity is tr ain ed an d th e com m u n ity is th en abl e to al so tr ain oth er s so th at th er e's a l on g l astin g em power ed appr oach to th e eye h eal th .

Th e Fou n d at i on h as p l ay ed a p i v ot al r ol e i n r ai si n g aw ar en ess abou t gen d er i n equ al i t y t h at ex i st s as f ar as av oi d abl e bl i n d n ess i s con cer n ed . W e w ou l d l ov e t o k n ow h ow i t i s af f ect i n g w om en an d gi r l s esp eci al l y acr oss t h e Gl obal Sou t h .

On e of m y oth er r ol es is pr esidin g over th e Nation al Fou n dation for Au str al ian W om en .

I'm a ver y pr ou d to cal l m ysel f a fem in ist. I bel ieve m en an d wom en sh ou l d be equ al . An d wh en we com e to eye h eal th , acr oss ever y r egion in th e wor l d, wom en ar e m or e l ik el y to be bl in d th an m en . Abou t 90 per cen t of th ose peopl e wh o ar e bl in d ar e wom en an d th ey ar e l ivin g in pover ty. Th ey've got n ear l y ever y for m of bl in dn ess an d vision ch al l en ges. Vision im pair ed wom en ar e n ot equ al to m en . Th ey per for m m u ch m or e. Now 55 per cen t of th e wor l d's bl in d an d vision im pair ed ar e fem al es.

An d th at's tr u e in ever y r egion , in th e Sou th bu t al so in devel oped cou n tr ies. W om en ar e m or e l ik el y to be vision im pair ed an d th er e ar e a l ot of r eason s su ch as biol ogy. You k n ow, wom en do l ive l on ger so th ey'r e m or e l ik el y to get som e of th e l on ger ter m eye ail m en ts.

Eye h eal th diseases l ik e catar act can be r ectified. W e h ave to wor k with you n g an d ol d wom en an d of cou r se m en too. Bu t you k n ow, th e cost is often a deter r en t for wom en to get

th e h el p th ey n eed. Th e tr eatm en ts par ticu l ar l y in m an y of th e Gl obal Sou th cou n tr ies ar e pr ior itized for th e car e an d u pk eep of th e m an 's h eal th becau se h e is tr adition al l y con sider ed th e br ead win n er or m ain tain s a h igh statu s. Th er e ar e cu l tu r al factor s su ch as wom en u su al l y n ot h avin g a say in

decision m ak in g or ar e n ot al l owed to tr avel .

W ith th e assu m ption of car e-wor k bein g a wom an ?s pr er ogative, it is al ways th e wom an ? th e m oth er ,sister ,wife etc. ? wh o ar e pu ttin g oth er s in fr on t of th em so th ey en d u p gettin g l ess good ou tcom es for th em sel ves.

If you l ook at tr ach om a, wh ich is su ch a ter r ibl e disease. Again , it im pacts wom en m or e an d becau se th ey l ook after th eir k ids, th ey pass on th e disease to th eir ch il dr en an d vice ver sa. Th is is yet an oth er viciou s cycl e we ar e tr yin g to br eak .

W e've got al l th ese factor s wor k in g again st wom en an d gen der equ al ity. Ou r str eam of wor k at th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation is n atu r al l y on e I'm ver y pr ou d of. It is on e I'm r eal l y pu sh in g an d tr yin g to m ak e su r e th at we bu il d a wor l d wh er e n o on e is bl in d or vision im pair ed n eedl essl y an d th at str ategy in cl u des wh en m en an d wom en h ave equ al access.

Th r ou gh y ou r ow n w or k at t h e Fou n d at i on , w h at k i n d of gen d er d i sp ar i t i es h av e y ou

w i t n essed as f ar as ey e h eal t h i s con cer n ed ?

we've got t o make sur e t hat we'r e equit able in t er ms of t r ying t o get access for women and gir ls as well as men.

I h ave h ad th e oppor tu n ity to wor k in m an y cou n tr ies acr oss th e wor l d. I h ave been in pl aces l ik e Zam bia, Zim babwe, M al awi an d you k n ow, it was sh ock in g to see som e of th e cir cu m stan ces. W om en ar e m an y a tim es r el egated to th e back of cabin s or ten ts becau se of th eir eye pr obl em s. I've seen fir sth an d wh er e th e m oth er is vision im pair ed an d ch il dr en m iss ou t on goin g to sch ool .

Som etim es th e m oth er does n ot h ave th e str en gth to or gan ize or th e cou r age an d con fiden ce to m ak e th e decision . So you get an oth er cycl e of pover ty star tin g becau se l ess edu cated ch il dr en wil l be m or e l ik el y u n abl e to h ave pr odu ctive wor k in g l ives an d br eak ou t of pover ty.

At th e Fou n dation , we h ave am bassador s an d ch am pion s fr om with in th e com m u n ity. W h en you h ave wom en an d gir l s r epr esen tin g you as ch am pion s of th e cau se, th ey ar e al so ch am pion in g gen der equ al ity. Th is is r eal l y excitin g an d positive. Th is is h ow th e Fou n dation pu ts gen der an d equ ity at th e h ear t of th eir pr ogr am s focu sin g pu bl ic h eal th .

W e h ope th at al l th ose wh o n eed eye car e can an d sh ou l d r eceive it. So we've got to m ak e su r e th at we'r e equ itabl e in ter m s of tr yin g to get access for wom en an d gir l s as wel l as m en .

W h at ar e som e of t h e m ost cr u ci al st ep s t h at n eed t o be t ak en t o ach i ev e gen d er equ i t y w h en i t com es t o ey e car e. H ow d oes v i si on i m p ai r m en t or av oi d abl e bl i n d n ess i m p act gen d er equ al i t y an d equ i t y ?

W e go to th e gu idin g pr in cipl es of su stain abl e devel opm en t su ch as SDG 5 wh ich focu ses on ach ievin g gen der equ al ity an d em power in g al l wom en an d gir l s. W e ar e tr yin g to u se th at as a r al l yin g poin t to u n l ock n ew fin an cin g, th r ou gh str on g fem al e en tr epr en eu r s, wom en wh o r eal l y car e passion atel y abou t gen der. I can n ot r eiter ate it en ou gh . W e ar e in 2022 wor se off th an we wer e two year s ago becau se th e COVID pan dem ic. It's th e addition al bu r den on th e wom en th at's r eal l y been a l on g l astin g. At th e Fou n dation , we ar e r eal l y tr yin g to em bed it in ever yth in g we do.

In Pak istan an d Ban gl adesh , we'r e tr ain in g ou tr each h eal th wor k er s wh o del iver m ater n al an d ch il d h eal th ser vices. Th ose ou tr each h eal th wor k er s m ay n ot h ave exper tise in eye h eal th . Bu t th ey ar e th e on es wh o ar e con n ectin g with th e com m u n ities, tal k in g to wom en an d gir l s. Th ey ar e th e on es goin g to th e back of th e cabin or h u t, an d seein g th e poor wom an wh o is l yin g th er e, ostr acized by h er com m u n ity an d n ot abl e to get an edu cation . Com m u n ity wor k er s ar e th e catal yst; en su r in g th at th e ecosystem of car e r each es in pl aces wh er e it doesn ?t oth er wise.

An d th is is on e of th e m an y way we ar e, dir ectl y an d in dir ectl y,l iftin g wom en an d gir l s an d im pr ovin g th eir h eal th ou tcom es.

Bef or e w e en d t h i s i n t er v i ew , I r eal l y w an t ed t o k n ow w h at w as i t l i k e t o be i n t h e sam e r oom w i t h N el son M an d el a. Cou l d y ou t el l u s abou t y ou r ex p er i en ce.

I h ave th e gr eat for tu n e of m eetin g h im m an y, m an y tim es actu al l y bu t th e r eal l y power fu l m om en t I m et h im was th e day h e cam e ou t fr om pr ison . I was in vited by Ar ch bish op Tu tu to h ave br eak fast with a sm al l gr ou p of fr ien ds, am bassador s an d th e M an del a fam il y.

It was at Bish op Tu tu ?s h om e in Cape Town .

Th e wh ol e wor l d was waitin g to see wh at th is m an was l ik e an d wh at h e was goin g to say.

After exch an gin g pl easan tr ies, h e ask ed m ewh at it was l ik e to be in Sou th Afr ica as a you n g Au str al ian dipl om at. Now h er e is a m an wh o h as th e wor l d tr an sfixed on h im an d h e was tak in g k in d en ou gh to ask abou t m y exper ien ces. It on l y r econ fir m ed m y con viction of h is gr eatn ess as a wor l d l eader.

H e was a m an of gr eat h u m il ity an d cu r iosity, attr ibu tes n ot m an y in h is position possess.

M an y ar e fil l ed with ar r ogan ce bu t n ot M an del a. H e was al ways car in g an d th in k in g of oth er s.

In th e en d, I wou l d ju st l ik e to con cl u de th at it?s th e h u m an itar ian appr oach with wh ich th e Fou n dation wor k s th at r eal l y m ak es m e feel h on or ed an d pr ivil eged to be th e ch air of th is won der fu l or gan ization .

The I nter view is lightly edited for clar ity.

?St ?Strr aight aight away away II could could see. see. II danced danced out out of of tthe hettheat heatrr e. e. II was wasso so happy? happy?

Rea l St or i es Rea l Li ves

Locat ion: Dar w in, Aust r alia Name: Car oline Spicer Age: 74 Year s Car ol in e is a gr eat gr an dm oth er an d a r etir ed dir ector of a ch il d-car e cen tr e. Sh e?s or igin al l y fr om Rock h am pton bu t h as l ived in Dar win for 50 year s. Sh e?s a Dar u m bal wom an .

Car ol in e h ad catar act su r ger y on h er l eft eye. ?M y eyes star ted water in g wh en I wou l d watch TV an d tear s wer e r u n n in g down m y face. I did wear

gl asses an d th ou gh t th ey wer en ?t good. Bu t th en , I wen t to th e optom etr ist an d sh e said you ?ve got catar act an d th ey?r e gettin g wor se an d wor se.?

After sh e h ad th e su r ger y,sh e said:

?Str aigh t away I cou l d see. I dan ced ou t of th e th eatr e. I was so h appy. I don ?t h ave to wear gl asses n ow.?

n er vou s, it?s th e best th in g th at ever h appen ed to m e.

It?s beau tifu l . I wasn ?t n er vou s, I was ju st h appy to get it don e.?

W h en ask ed to sh ar e h er Car ol in e h ad h er secon d exper ien ce especial l y for su r ger y don e in th e oth er th ose gettin g th e su r ger y, eye a few m on th s l ater. sh e said: ?Don ?t be

Rea l St or i es Rea l Li ves

Enabling Access Sh au n Tatipata, for m er m an ager of Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation ?s In digen ou s Au str al ia Pr ogr am Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation , in col l abor ation with k ey stak eh ol der s, is in vestin g in an d del iver in g coor din ated catar act su r ger y path ways for Abor igin al an d Tor r es Str ait Isl an der Peopl es to r estor e sigh t. ?Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation h as wor k ed with Dar win Pr ivate H ospital an d th eir staff to tak e pr essu r e off th e pu bl ic h eal th system an d h el p Abor igin al an d Tor r es Str ait Isl an der Peopl es access catar act su r ger y.

even l on ger.

Th er e ar e n ot en ou gh pu bl ic eye h eal th ser vices an d m ost oph th al m ol ogists wor k in th e pr ivate sector ,bu t Abor igin al an d Tor r es Str ait Isl an der Peopl es ar e l ess l ik el y to h ave pr ivate h eal th in su r an ce. So Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation bel ieves pr ivate h ospital s an d th eir wor k for ce can be par t of th e sol u tion .

Th e Fou n dation su ppor ts patien ts th r ou gh ever y step in th eir jou r n ey ? fr om u n der stan din g wh at catar act is, wh at th e su r ger y in vol ves, com pl etin g paper wor k an d gettin g to an d fr om th e Dedicated su r ger ies for Abor igin al an d h ospital . Th e Fou n dation ?s team Tor r es Str ait Isl an der patien ts on th e m ak es su r e th at ser vices ar e cu l tu r al l y wait l ist en abl es access catar act appr opr iate for Abor igin al an d Tor r es su r ger y m or e qu ick l y.

Str ait Isl an der Peopl es.

Abor igin al an d Tor r es Str ait Isl an der Jo Seil er - Gen er al M an ager Dar win Peopl es ar e 12 tim es m or e l ik el y to Pr ivate H ospital , said, ?Th is is ou r th ir d h ave u n tr eated catar act th an oth er year wor k in g with Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Au str al ian s, bu t th ey ar e l ess l ik el y to Fou n dation to give th e gift of sigh t to r eceive th e n ecessar y su r ger y. Too In digen ou s peopl e. Th an k s to th e m an y Abor igin al an d Tor r es Str ait effor ts of ou r dedicated Isl an der Peopl es ar e stu ck on waitin g oph th al m ol ogists an d an aesth etists, l ists with th eir vision wor sen in g, even n u r sin g an d su ppor t staff, an oth er 17 th ou gh catar act can be fixed with a In digen ou s Au str al ian s h ave been abl e r el ativel y sim pl e 30-m in u te oper ation . to u n der go m u ch -n eeded catar act Even befor e COVID, on l y 37 per cen t of su r ger y. It?s a pr ivil ege to par tn er with th e n eed for catar act su r ger y for Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation on th is Abor igin al an d Tor r es Str ait Isl an der in cr edibl y im por tan t wor k , an d I wan t Peopl es in th e Gr eater Dar win r egion to th an k ou r team at Dar win Pr ivate was bein g m et. Becau se of Covid-19 H ospital wh o so wil l in gl y don ated peopl e wh o h ave been on th e waitin g th eir tim e an d exper tise for th is l ist for catar act su r ger y h ad to wait won der fu l cau se.?

Oph th al m ol ogist, Dr Th ar m al in gam M ah en dr a said: ?It is im por tan t wh en you con sider th e patien ts? poin t of view. W h en th ey com e h er e th ey ar e con fiden t wh en Fr ed H ol l ows br in gs th em becau se th ey k n ow th ey ar e in safe h an ds. W h en we go an d do som eth in g we ar e str an ger s, so wh en Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation br in g th em th ey th in k th ey ar e ou r peopl e. Ou r waitin g l ist is r edu cin g. W h en you do on e day of 20 cases, th at is fin ish ed m or e qu ick l y.?

Given t he opt ion of a simple and painless pr ocedur e, Sally Winbir r decided t o par t icipat e in an Int ensive Eye Sur ger y Week in Dar w in, suppor t ed by The Fr ed Hollows Foundat ion and par t ner s.

?So many people I can see, hey. Br ight !,? she exclaims. ?Br ight er, br ight er, br ight er !? said Sally Winbir r af t er her cat ar act sur ger y.

Indigenous ar t ist Pet er Dat jin had cat ar act s in bot h eyes.

Sur ger ies wer e successf ully per for med in bot h eyes for Pet er.

Abor iginal and Tor r es St r ait Islander Peoples ar e 12 t imes mor e likely t o have unt r eat ed cat ar act t han ot her Aust r alians, but t hey ar e less likely t o r eceive t he necessar y sur ger y.

Challenging Pover t y & Racism Thr ough Vision

By Sabi n M u zaf f ar

In Au str al ia, 35 per cen t of Abor igin al an d Tor r es Str ait Isl an der adu l ts h ave n ever h ad an eye exam . Vision l oss an d im pair m en t is on e of th e m ost com m on l on g ter m h eal th con dition s su ffer ed especial l y by th ese com m u n ities an d th ey ar e th r ee tim es m or e l ik el y to exper ien ce eye ail m en ts.

The long r ide

An Au str al ian In digen ou s H eal th In fon et r epor t states: ?Abor igin al an d Tor r es Str ait Isl an der ch il dr en , especial l y th ose l ivin g in r em ote ar eas, often h ave better vision th an n on -In digen ou s ch il dr en . Eye an d sigh t pr obl em s in cr ease with age.It is estim ated th at over 18,000 Abor igin al an d Tor r es Str ait Isl an der adu l ts over th e age of 40 ar e l ivin g with vision im pair m en t or bl in dn ess.?

Accor din g to th e Fr ed H ol l ows

Fou n dation ,94per cen t of vision l oss am on g th e said com m u n ities is pr even tabl e.

It was in th e l ate 1960s th at doctor fou n d it in excu sabl e th at m em ber s of vu l n er abl e com m u n ities in Au str al ia wer e l ivin g in der el ict con dition s as far as eye h eal th an d gen er al wel l -bein g was con cer n ed. A vision ar y,Dr. Fr ed H ol l ows k n ew th at em power m en t an d au ton om y go h an d in h an d, em bedded with th e spir it of equ ity an d action . ?Livin g on a ver y r em ote l an d wh er e it

tak es u s n in e h ou r s to r each Dar win in addition to dr ivin g off th e m ain r oad ju st to r each ou r cattl e station in seven h ou r s; it is a h u ge ch al l en ge to get m edical atten tion .So gettin g to a m edical facil ity was al ways an en or m ou s im pedim en t,? r eveal s Rik k i Dan k , aGu dan ji/ W ak aja wom an fr om Bor r ol ool a, wh ich is a r em ote com m u n ity in th e Nor th er n Ter r itor y Au str al ia.

Rem in iscin g abou t th e past, Rik k i says: ?Ou r r el ation sh ip with Pr ofessor Fr ed

H ol l ows began year s ago with m y gr an dfath er. W or d got ou t th at th er e was a doctor wh o wan ted to com e ou t an d give an eye h eal th ch eck -u p. Th is was som eth in g u n iqu e becau se th er e wer e n ot m an y doctor wh o wou l d eith er go or wer e avail abl e to actu al l y pay h eal th r el ated visits.?

To give som e per spective, th e abor igin al peopl e h ave been at th e r eceivin g en d of gr u esom e h ostil ities fr om social excl u sion to u n accou n tabl e cases of extr em e viol en ce (t r i gger wa r ni ng) tor tu r e, m u r der an d r ape, wh ich star ted 200 year s ago an d en ded on l y r ecen tl y ? r ou gh l y ar ou n d 80 year s ago. It was on l y n atu r al for Fir st Nation peopl e to be war y an d h ave a h igh l evel of m istr u st. (t r i gger wa r ni ng) ?M y gr an dad wh o passed away in 2020, was m ade to watch h is m oth er bein g gan g-r aped wh en h e was l ittl e. Th at was th e l ast tim e h e saw h is m oth er. M y gr an dm oth er h ad th ese th in gs in h er back an d I k ept ask in g h er wh at th ey wer e, on l y to l ear n l ater fr om m y m oth er th at th ose wer e bu l l ets th at cou l dn ?t be tak en ou t fr om h er body. So with ever yth in g th at h as h appen ed, th er e was a l ot of m istr u st as far as n on -in digen ou s peopl e wer e con cer n ed. W h en m y gr an dfath er h ear d abou t Pr ofessor Fr ed H ol l ows, h e pu t h is en tir e fam il y in a car to m eet h im an d got ever yon e fr om even m y gr eat gr an dm oth er ch eck ed. It is am azin g to see wh at Pr ofessor H ol l ows did so br il l ian tl y becau se for m y fam il y to pl ace th eir tr u st in som eon e th ey h ad n ever m et was h u ge. It is al l du e to Pr ofessor Fr ed H ol l ows?ph il osoph y of doin g th e good wor k ; th at it h as to be? ou gh t to be don e an d with ou t an y expectation in r etu r n . Th is r eson ates with ou r com m u n ity ideal s as wel l . So to see th is in som eon e wh o didn ?t bel on g to th e com m u n ity an d wh o was

Rik k i Dank

a n on -in digen ou s per son was am azin g.

Th is act of sel fl essn ess stays with you , al ways! Th is ideal con tin u es to be th e cor e vision of th e Fou n dation itsel f. It was al so du e to th is eth os th at m y m oth er ,Debr a Dan k , l eft h er job to wor k for th e Fou n dation as sh e saw th e oppor tu n ity to k eep on doin g th e good wor k an d al so give back to th e Fou n dation . W h at Fr ed H ol l ows did for u s didn ?t r eal l y h appen to in digen ou s peopl e.?

W or k in g towar ds equ itabl e eye h eal th for th e cou n tr y?s Fir st Nation s peopl e, Th e Fou n dation ?s ?In digen ou s Au str al ia Pr ogr am su ppor ts in cr eased in vestm en t in an d access to cu l tu r al l y appr opr iate eye h eal th ser vices.?

Al ign ed with th is, th e Fou n dation h as str ategic par tn er sh ips th at en abl e qu al itative del iver y of m edical

tr eatm en t in cl u din g catar act, diabetic r etin opath y an d tr ach om a ? som e of th e l eadin g cau ses of vision im pair m en t an d avoidabl e bl in dn ess.

Th e pr ogr am al so en vision s toin cr ease access to ser vices for patien ts in r em ote com m u n ities,coor din ate an d im pr ove ou tr each ser vices so ever yon e wh o n eeds m edical car e gets itas wel l aspr ovide tr ain in g an d su ppor t to Abor igin al an d Tor r es Str ait Isl an der h eal th staff.

Accor din g to th e Fr ed H ol l ows

Fou n dation 2021 r epor t: ?Th e in digen ou s Au str al ia Pr ogr am bu il ds on th e Fou n dation ?s l on g-stan din g h istor y of bein g an al l y to Au str al ia?s Fir st Nation ?s Peopl es.?

Tal k in g abou t th e Fou n dation ?s vision , Pr ofessor Fr ed H ol l ows h ad h im sel f said: ?Ou r vision is for a wor l d wh er e in digen ou s Au str al ian s en joy th e sam e h eal th an d l ife expectan cy as oth er Au str al ian s.?

Th e Fou n dation h as su ppor ted th ou san ds of Fir st Nation s peopl e l ik e

Sal l y W in bir r wh o h ad l on g su ffer ed fr om bl u r r ed vision or Gil ber t ? a Gaagu dju m an ? wh o h ad catar act; en abl in g th em to l ead th e l ife th ey so r igh tfu l l y deser ve. ?W h at Pr ofessor Fr ed H ol l ows, M r s.

Gabi H ol l ows an d th e Fou n dation itsel f h ave don e an d con tin u e doin g is to give a n ew l ease of l ife to peopl e an d h el pin g th em br eak th e cycl e of pover ty. I am r en der ed speech l ess wh en I th in k abou t th e Fou n dation ?s im m en se wor k .

Th ey ar e doin g so m u ch to br eak th e cir cl e of pover ty. Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation sh ou l d be cel ebr ated, adm ir ed an d th eir wor k em u l ated. I l ove th e wor k th ey ar e doin g an d wish th em an oth er br il l ian t 30 year s. I?d l ik e to per son al l y th an k th e fou n dation for h el pin g m y fam il y,? con cl u des Rik k i.

What Pr ofessor Fr ed Hollows, Mr s.

Gabi Hollows and t he Foundat ion it self have done and cont inue doing is t o give a new lease of life t o people and helping t hem br eak t he cycle of pover t y.

Ser ving Humanit y Thr ough Music, Light & Pur pose

Em i r a t i soul si nger a nd The Fr ed H ollows Founda t i on Am ba ssa dor ,Ar qa m Al Abr i , t a lks a bout hi s m usi c, pur pose a nd vi si on of ser vi ng hum a ni t y L et u s begi n by y ou t el l i n g u s abou t y ou r sel f ?

I am an Em ir ati Sou l sin ger ,wh o l eft th e cor por ate wor l d to str ive an d m ak e a differ en ce with positive m u sic an d con sciou s en tr epr en eu r sh ip. I wou l d say m y m u sic is an em bodim en t of th e UAE, wh er e th e ol d val u es m eet th e n ew an d pr ogr essive - ol d sch ool sou l an d n eo- sou l beats, with l yr ics r ooted in positivity,in tr ospection , l ove an d sear ch for pu r pose.

W i t h y ou r i m m en se bod y of w or k as a m u si ci an , w h at ar e som e of t h e h i gh l i gh t s of y ou r st el l ar car eer ?

I h ave to say I am extr em el y h u m bl ed in m y jou r n ey in to m u sic! I?ve h ad th e oppor tu n ity to per for m at th e Lou vr e, Expo 2020, La M er an d oth er h igh pr ofil e even ts. I h ave to say th at bein g abl e to per for m m y m u sic l ive in fr on t of so m an y peopl e is fu l fil l in g an d m otivates m e to do m or e.

M u si c w i t h i m p act : i n d eed m u si c i s u n i v er sal as i t br i n gs p eop l e t oget h er , i t i s abou t h ar m on y an d p eace. Un i t y i s som et h i n g m u ch n eed ed i n t h e w or l d w e l i v e i n . H ow i n y ou r op i n i on d oes m u si c cr eat e t h at d i al ogu e f or p eop l e acr oss d i f f er en t sect i on s of soci et y ?

M u sic is m or e th an ju st wor ds an d a beat, it?s abou t sh ar in g a piece of you r sel f th r ou gh son g.

Phot ogr aphy by: Jal al Abu th in a

Regar dl ess if you k n ow th e l an gu age, a good son g h as a way of m ovin g you . It?s im por tan t th at we u se th is power fu l tool to cr eate pieces th at r efl ect ou r val u es, bel iefs an d pu r pose.

You h av e been r ecen t l y ap p oi n t ed Th e Fr ed H ol l ow s Fou n d at i on ?s am bassad or . Tel l u s h ow t h i s r el at i on sh i p began an d w h y ?

I was appr oach ed by M ah a Oda, fr om th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation , du r in g Expo 2020 to m eet an d discu ss a par ticu l ar even t, th e even t did n ot h appen ed bu t discu ssion abou t m y pl an s an d th eir s devel oped in to per h aps wor k in g with th em .

Even tu al l y th at tu r n ed in to discu ssion s abou t possibl y bein g an am bassador an d n ow we ar e h er e!M ah a h as been gu idin g m e ever sin ce, edu catin g m e abou t th eir vision , im pact an d th e gr eat wor k th ey?ve been doin g in var iou s par ts of th e wor l d.

"For ever y $1 invest ed in pr event ing someone f r om going blind, at least four t imes t he f inancial benef it goes t o t he economy. " Do t el l u s m or e abou t y ou r p l an s at t h e Fou n d at i on i n t h e f u t u r e.

W h at k i n d of i m p act h av e y ou w i t n essed as f ar as t h e Fr ed H ol l ow s Fou n d at i on i s con cer n ed ?

th e econ om ic ben efits of el im in atin g avoidabl e bl in dn ess in devel opin g cou n tr ies ou tweigh th e costs by a factor of fou r to on e. Th is m ean s for ever y $1 in vested in pr even tin g som eon e fr om goin g bl in d, at l east fou r tim es th e fin an cial ben efit goes to th e econ om y.

Th is pl aces el im in atin g avoidabl e bl in dn ess am on g th e m ost effective in ter ven tion s avail abl e,an d can be l ik en ed to pr im ar y sch ool edu cation an d bu il din g br idges in ter m s of br oader econ om ic val u e.

Th e r esu l ts of a l an dm ar k stu dy sh ow

As an Em i r at i sou l si n ger , h ow d o y ou

I am l ook in g for war d to r aisin g awar en ess abou t th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation an d avoidabl e bl in dn ess over th e com in g year. I defin itel y wan t to be on gr ou n d an d par ticipate in som e of th eir cl in ics an d per h aps cr eate som e m u sic!

see m u si c can ad d t o Th e Fou n d at i on ?s cau se?

M u sic is th e sou n dtr ack s of ou r l ives, as an ar tist I tr y an d cr eate m u sic th at is con sciou s, u pl iftin g an d positive. I am h opin g th is wil l tr an sl ate in to sh in in g a l igh t on th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation , th e good wor k th ey do an d h ow we can al l m ak e a differ en ce.

Ar e t h er e an y n ew i n i t i at i v es by y ou t h at w e sh ou l d be ex ci t ed abou t (eg. n ew m u si c)?

Qu ite a l ot is h appen in g over th e n ext few m on th s! I am r el easin g a n ew son g on th e 12th of October cal l ed ?Leavin g?- a son g th at tak es an in tr ospective l ook at r el ation sh ips an d br eak u ps. I am per for m in g at th e Ch el th en h am Festival over October ,in M exico in Novem ber an d in th e Bah r ain Jazz fest on th e 2n d Dec. Th en I?m back per for m in g at th e Lou vr e on th e 3r d Decem ber ! Excitin g tim es!

Th e Fou n d at i on i s cel ebr at i n g 30 y ear s of i m p act f u l ch an gem ak i n g t h i s y ear , an y l ast w or d s al so f ocu si n g t h at ?

A qu ote I l ive an d cr eate by is ?Be ash am ed to die u n til you h ave won a victor y for m an ?

- H or ace M an . I?m gr atefu l th at I can ser ve a pu r pose, to sh ar e a l igh t an d h el p wh er e I can .

Naima Salahat : ?If I did not get t he sur ger y, I would be blind by now ?

N ai m a Sal ah at , 54, m ot h er -of -10 an d h ou sew i f e f r om t h e Bet h l eh em gov er n or at e, 19k m f r om Jer u sal em . Sh e al so su f f er s f r om d i abet es, h y p er t en si on , an d h ear t d i sease.

Al m ost h al f a bi l l i on p eop l e ar ou n d t h e w or l d l i v e w i t h d i abet es an d al l ar e at r i sk of i r r ev er si bl e v i si on l oss d u e t o d i abet i c r et i n op at h y (DR i f t h ey ar e n ot t r eat ed i n t i m e.

L i f est y l e ch an ges h av e l ed t o an i n cr ease i n t h e n u m ber of p eop l e w i t h d i abet es acr oss al l cou n t r i es d u r i n g t h e p ast 30 y ear s. I f t r en d s con t i n u e, t h e n u m ber of p eop l e w i t h DR i s ex p ect ed t o i n cr ease f r om 146 m i l l i on i n 2014 t o 180.6 m i l l i on i n 2030 an d 215 m i l l i on by 2045. By 2040 i t i s an t i ci p at ed t h at 70 m i l l i on p eop l e w i l l h av e v i si on t h r eat en i n g DR. Ei gh t y p er cen t of p eop l e w i t h d i abet es l i v e i n l ow - an d m i d d l e-i n com e cou n t r i es, w h er e h eal t h sy st em s ar e n ot equ i p p ed t o r esp on d t o t h i s gr ow i n g ep i d em i c. Few p eop l e can access t h e car e t h ey n eed . Th at i s w h y Th e Fr ed H ol l ow s Fou n d at i on i s p i l ot i n g n ew an d i n n ov at i v e ap p r oach es t o bet t er m an age DR i n l ow -r esou r ce set t i n gs.

Palest inians have t en t imes t he r at e of blindness t han t hose in west er n count r ies

Rea l St or i es Rea l Li ves

Locat ion: Palest ine Name: Jenin Age: 3 Year s

Th r ee-year -ol d Jen in fr om Gaza n eeded a com pl ex eye su r ger y,an d on l y th e su r geon s at St Joh n ?s Eye H ospital ch il dr en ?s war d in Jer u sal em cou l d in stal l a secon dar y in tr aocu l ar l en s, a pr ocedu r e th at wil l r estor ed h er sigh t.

Jen in ?s gr an dm oth er ,Layl a accom pan ied h er on th e ar du ou s jou r n ey fr om Gaza an d pr aised th e doctor s after th e su ccess of th e su r ger y. ?W e ar e so gr atefu l for th em an d th e or gan isation wh o h el ped u s an d h el pin g oth er s, an d ever y per son in n eed.?

Pal estin ian s h ave ten tim es th e r ate of bl in dn ess th an th ose in wester n cou n tr ies. Th e pr eval en ce of bl in dn ess is al m ost twice as h igh in Gaza (4.9%) th an th e W est Ban k (2.5%), an d h igh er am on gst wom en th an m en (4.3% com par ed to 2.2%).

St Joh n Eye H ospital Gr ou p?s m ission is to pr ovide eye car e r egar dl ess of eth n icity,r el igion or abil ity to pay. Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation wor k s to r edu ce r ates of avoidabl e bl in dn ess am on g th e 15 m il l ion peopl e acr oss th e M iddl e East wh o ar e avoidabl y bl in d, an d h ave a l on gstan din g par tn er sh ip with St Joh n ?s in Pal estin e for m an y year s.

Rea l St or i es Rea l Li ves

Locat ion: Indonesia Pat ient?s Name: Nur haidah Age: 54 Year s

Visualizing Financial Aut onomy

For al m ost 20 year s, Nu r h aidah was a sin gl e m oth er wh o r aised h er two ch il dr en in th e vil l age of Dor ebar a, in Dom pu , In don esia. Pr esen tl y,sh e l ives with h er 16-year ol d gr an ddau gh ter ,wh o sh e su ppor ts by wor k in g as a vegetabl e sel l er. Ever y m or n in g, 54-year ol d Nu r h aidah wou l d wak e u p ear l y to bu y vegetabl es fr om th e l ocal m ar k et to r esel l to vil l ager s. ?I am al ways ver y tir ed an d tear s com e ou t of m y eyes som etim es,? Nu r h aidah sh ar ed.

Du r in g h ar vest season , Nu r h aidah ear n ed extr a m on ey by h el pin g far m er s h ar vest cor n an d r ice.

Nu r h aidah u sed to wor k r ou n d th e cl ock an d wh en n ot wor k in g, sh e wou l d spen d m ost of h er tim e doin g h ou seh ol d ch or es. Th is was Nu r h aidah ?s dail y r itu al u n til sh e devel oped an eye pr obl em m or e th an two year s ago. Becau se of h er poor vision , Nu r h aidah ?s wor k h as su ffer ed an d h er in com e h as dail y in com e

h as decr eased fr om 30,000 r u piah to 20,000 r u piah - abou t $2 dol l ar s.

Lu ck il y,Dom pu h ad its fir st eye cam p after m or e th an two year s an d Nu r h aidah h ad access to fr ee eye ch eck s. Th e eye ch eck con fir m ed Nu r h aidah h ad r efr active er r or ,or m yopia, wh er e sh e is u n abl e to cl ear l y see objects at a distan ce. Sh e al so sh owed ear l y sym ptom s of pter ygiu m , wh ich can be tr eated with su r ger y to be con du cted at a l ater date.

Nu r h aidah ?s exper ien ce sh ow th e im por tan ce of u n der goin g r egu l ar eye ch eck s. In pl aces l ik e Nu r h aidah ?s town , accessin g eye h eal th ser vices can be a pr obl em .

For n ow, with assistan ce fr om Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation , Nu r h aidah h as been abl e to r eceive th e cor r ect pair of eyegl asses. For m an y peopl e, bl in dn ess an d vision im pair m en t is both a cau se an d effect of pover ty. Equ ipped with better vision , Nu r h aidah expects to con tin u e wor k in g, an d in cr ease h er in com e so sh e can su ppor t h er gr an ddau gh ter ?s stu dies.

Equipped w it h bet t er vision, Nur haidah expect s t o cont inue wor k ing, and incr ease her income so she can suppor t her gr anddaught er ?s st udies.

In fogr aph ic Cou r tesy: Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation

Re-imagining Vision for t he Poor est of Poor

Senior opht halmologist and The Foundat ion?s Et hiopian t echnical advisor, Dr Wondu Alemayehu chat s w it h Sabin Muzaf far about t he gender impact of t r achoma and cr eat ing pat hways t o sust ainable eye-healt h ser vices.

Tr ach om a is on e of th e l eadin g cau ses of bl in dn ess wor l dwide. A bacter ial in fection affectin g th e vision , it is a h igh l y con tagiou s disease th at spr eads th r ou gh con tact with eyes, eyel ids, secr etion s fr om th e n ose or m ou th , as wel l as ph ysical con tact th r ou gh h an ds, cl oth in g an d beddin g. Affectin g m or e th an 1.9 m il l ion peopl e acr oss 44 cou n tr ies, bl in dn ess cau sed by tr ach om a is ir r ever sibl e. In addition , tr ach om a exacer bates gen der in equ al ities with m or e wom en at r isk for gettin g in fected th an m en ; m ain l y du e to bein g pr im ar y car egiver s in th e fam il y. ?As far as I'm con cer n ed, tr ach om a is a wom an ?s disease, par ticu l ar l y m oth er s an d ch il dr en . It essen tial l y affects th e pil l ar of th e fam il y,th e h ear t an d th e m in d of th e fam il y. W h en th e m oth er is affected, th e wel l -bein g

of th e en tir e fam il y is affected.

Active tr ach om a is abu n dan t in ch il dr en , especial l y pr e-sch ool k ids between two to five year s of age. An d with th e m oth er ten din g h er ch il dr en , sh e gets in fected r epeatedl y th r ou gh tou ch or cl oth in g,? expl ain ssen ior oph th al m ol ogist an d Th e Fou n dation ?s Eth iopian tech n ical advisor ,Dr W on du Al em ayeh u .

H avin g gr adu ated an d in itial l y wor k in g as a gen er al pr actition er , Dr Al em ayeh u witn essed th e im m en se ch al l en ge th at eye h eal th pr esen ted an d opted to be tr ain ed as an oph th al m ol ogist.?You see patien ts visitin g gen er al pr actition er s with al l k in ds of pr obl em s. M an y,even ch il dr en , cam e with tr ach om a r el ated issu es, catar act bl in dn ess, gl au com a. Th er e was n o awar en ess an d m ost of th e patien ts did n ot k n ow h ow to

m an age th eir eye pr obl em s,? h e adds. ?Raisin g awar en ess is ver y im por tan t. It is cr itical to cr eate awar en ess as far as decision m ak er s at th e n ation al l evel as wel l as in com m u n ities an d fam il ies ar e con cer n ed. Ver y few peopl e u n der stan d or h ave th e awar en ess th at catar act, for exam pl e, can be cu r ed or a 10 m in u te su r ger y can get r id of th e in ver tin g of th e eyel ids.

Tr ach om a gives r ise to th e com pl ication of th e in ver tin g of th e eyel ids. W e bl in k .19,000 tim es a day.

Im agin e th e excr u ciatin g pain a m oth er su ffer s wh il e sh e is cook in g in a sm ok ey,con fin ed ar ea, cl ean in g or ten din g h er sick ch il dr en . Th e discom for t is n ot ju st con tin u ou s, it l eaves beh in d scr atch es an d scar r in g of th e eye,? saysDr

?This year alone, t he Fr ed Hollows has conduct ed 24,0 0 0 eye sur ger ies and over 70 % of t hem ar e women, and I bet most of t hem ar e mot her s.?

Al em ayeh u .

Accor din g to th eW or l d H eal th Or gan ization (W H O), ?Visu al im pair m en t or bl in dn ess r esu l ts in a wor sen in g of th e l ife exper ien ce of affected in dividu al s an d th eir fam il ies, wh o ar e n or m al l y al r eady am on gst th e poor est of th e poor.

W om en ar e bl in ded u p to fou r tim es as often as m en , pr obabl y du e to th eir cl ose con tact with in fected ch il dr en an d th eir r esu l tin g gr eater fr equ en cy of in fection episodes.?

Ter m ed as h yper en dem ic by th e W H O, tr ach om a im pacts m an y in th e poor est, m ostl y r u r al ar eas of th e Gl obal Sou th in cl u din g Afr ica, Cen tr al an d Sou th Am er ica, as wel l as Au str al ia, th e M iddl e East an d Asia; with Afr ica bein g th e m ost affected r egion an d al so r eceivin g th e m ost in ten sive con tr ol effor ts.

Tal k in g abou t h ow r aisin g awar en ess can sign ifican tl y im pact gr ou n d r eal ities,Dr Al em ayeh u r ation al izes: ?I h ave said th is a n u m ber of tim e th at

peopl e th in k bl in dn ess or visu al im pair m en t does n ot k il l bu t I do str on gl y bel ieve it is a cau se of death . So yes, it is extr em el y im por tan t th at we wor k to r aise awar en ess acr oss com m u n ities as wel l as decision m ak er s.

Peopl e n eed to be em power ed with k n owl edge. Tr ach om a is abu n dan t in r u r al ar eas wh er e th e l iter acy l evel is extr em el y l ow. Th en th er e is over cr owdin g an d san itation pr obl em s.

Per son al h ygien e is n ot th at good, so we n eed to edu cate m oth er s an d ch an ge th eir beh avior s.

M ak e th em see th at wash in g th eir h an ds an d face an d th at of th eir ch il dr en on a dail y basis m ak es a h u ge differ en ce. Next an d m or e im por tan t is to im pr ove th e san itation l evel , th e avail abil ity of cl ean water an d san itar y facil ities. So wh en you com m u n icate th e l in k ages between th ese ch al l en ges to

com m u n ity an d r el igiou s l eader s an d em power th em with in for m ation . Th ey in tu r n can r each ou t to decision m ak er s at th e n ation al l evel , u r gin g th em to m ak e th ese facil ities an d am en ities avail abl e, with im pl em en tin g par tn er s al so com in g in an d addr essin g th ese cr itical ar eas.?

Dr.Al em ayeh u h as wor k ed with th e Fou n dation for m or e th an 26 year s dir ectl y as wel l as in dir ectl y. ?Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation is a pion eer in g an d bol d or gan ization . Th er e was in ter est in wor k in g in Eth iopia so

"People need t o be empower ed w it h k nowledge.

Tr achoma is abundant in r ur al ar eas wher e t he lit er acy level is ext r emely low. "

I was ask ed to do an assessm en t of th e visu al im pair m en t an d th e bl in dn ess situ ation in Eth iopia an d give m y r ecom m en dation to th e Fou n dation . Based on ou r fin din g, it was decided to wor k in th e biggest r egion of Eth iopia, Or om ia, to tack l e th e pr obl em of tr ach om a. After official l y r egister in g, th e Fou n dation began to r ol l ou t on e of th e m ost am bitiou s tr ach om a pr ogr am s in th e wor l d.?

In 2014,Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation r epor ted th at over two th ir ds of th e 33 m il l ion peopl e l ivin g in Or om ia wer e exposed to tr ach om a..

W ith in th e r egion al on e 200,000 peopl e wer e at r isk of goin g bl in d u n l ess su r ger ies wer e con du cted, an d wom en ar e m or e ?th an twice as l ik el y as m en to devel op th e disease?du e to th eir ch il dcar e activities. ?It's a h u ge effor t wh ich is bein g exer ted by th e Fou n dation to el im in ate th is com pl etel y pr even tabl e cau se of visu al im pair m en t. Th is is com pl etel y pr even tabl e an d tr eatabl e. An d th is al so th e r eason wh y su ch an exten sive pr ogr am is bein g im pl em en ted.An d it is h ear twar m in g to witn ess th is h igh dedication an d com m itm en t wh ich con sequ en tl y r esu l ts in tan gibl e

ch an ge,? th e sen ior oph th al m ol ogist opin es.

Th e Fou n dation is par t of th e Tr ach om a Task For ce focu sin g on m assive visu al r eh abil itation th at in cl u des acr oss th e boar d effor ts fr om san itation , su r ger ies, tr eatin g in fection with an tibiotics as wel l as r aisin g awar en ess abou t per son al h ygien e. ?Th e goal is to el im in ate th e scou r ge of tr ach om a.?

Al ign ed with th is vision , th e

doctor adds: ?Th e san itation effor t is al so bein g don e by par tn er in g with oth er or gan ization s in th e wor st affected ar eas. W ith al l ou r advocacy at th e m in istr y of h eal th l evel ; it is n ow gettin g im m en se atten tion , wh ich m ak es m e r eal l y h appy,?

Th e wor k for th e Fou n dation does n ot actu al l y stop th er e.

Effor ts on th e gr ou n d can on l y be su stain abl e wh en it is or gan ical l y

im pl em en ted. ?Own er sh ip is extr em el y im por tan t so par t of ou r str ategy is to pr epar e stak eh ol der s for th e tr an sition with appr opr iate tr an sfer of l ear n in g an d sk il l s th r ou gh capacity bu il din g. So th e tr an sition is n ot ju st sm ooth bu t ver y or gan ic in n atu r e wh en th e even tu al h an din g over th e r ein s to r espon sibl e au th or ities, h eal th facil ities an d com m u n ities in th e cou n tr y does tak e pl ace. Th e idea

is for stak eh ol der s to l eave u s with a str on g com m itm en t to m ove for war d on th eir own an d tak e u p th e r espon sibil ity. By tak in g own er sh ip an d focu sin g on im pact. Th at's wh at th e or gan ization is tr yin g to do an d I'm h appy to h ave wor k ed with th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation , con cl u des

Saving Sight , Enabling Well Being

Name: Haw it i Tufa Age: 60 Year s Locat ion: Et hiopia

H u n dr eds of peopl e patien tl y qu eu e u n der th e awn in gs of th e h eal th cen tr e at r u r al Jeju , al m ost fou r h ou r s Sou th east of Addis Ababa, Eth iopia, as th e h eaven s pou r u n season al r ain .

Th ey h ave com e fr om far an d wide on h ear in g abou t th e eye scr een in gs, or gan ised to tr eat th e in cr edibl y pain fu l an d bl in din g eye con dition , tr ach om a.

M an y h ave h ear d abou t th r ou gh th e l ocal r adio, oth er s fr om th e m assive com m u n ity m obil isation cam paign .

Am on g th e n er vou s gr ou p sittin g ou tside is H awiti Tu fa, a

Rea l St or i es Rea l Li ves

Women make up 70 per cent of t hose w it h t r achoma and t hey?r e four t imes mor e likely t o need sur ger y t han men.

60-year -ol d gr an dm oth er of fou r , wh o sm il es war m l y at visitor s fr om th e m ak esh ift su r ger y en cl osu r e by Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation wh ich h as wor k ed with l ocal h eal th au th or ities to or gan ise th e scr een in g an d su r ger y.

H awiti tel l s th e Fou n dation , sh e?s h ad sever e eye pain for m or e th an a year ,as th e r epeated tr ach om a in fection s h ave scar r ed h er eyel ids tu r n in g th em in war ds u n til th e l ash es scr atch on h er cor n ea. ?Th e fir st sign was itch in g an d ir r itation in m y eyes an d th en th er e was a l ot of pain . I was scr atch in g m y eyes becau se of th e itch in g sen sation ,? sh e said. ?I was wor r ied wh en th ey tol d m e I was goin g to h ave an oper ation .?

H awiti k n ows a l ot of peopl e wh o h ave h ad su r ger y for tr ach om a. In Eth iopia, 27 m il l ion peopl e l ive in ar eas wh er e tr ach om a is en dem ic. W om en m ak e u p 70 per cen t of th ose with tr ach om a an d th ey?r e fou r tim es m or e l ik el y to n eed su r ger y th an m en .

H awiti h as wal k ed for m or e th an th r ee h ou r s to m ak e th e 21k m jou r n ey fr om h er m odest m u d h u t h om e to th e h eal th cen tr e.

H er dau gh ter Gen o H u ssien wal k ed with h er ,m ak in g su r e sh e r each ed th e cl in ic.

It?s a com m on stor y in th ese ar eas wh er e m ost peopl e h ave sm al l pl ots of l an d in r em ote an d in accessibl e l ocation s.

H awiti is oper ated on by you n g

su r geon Feyer a Bek el e wh o is an in tegr ated eye car e wor k er tr ain ed by Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation .

Th e 25-year -ol d h as exper ien ce beyon d h is year s an d estim ates h e?s don e m or e th an 300 su r ger ies. Su per vised by Dr W on du Al am ayeh u , tech n ical advisor to Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation on tr ach om a, Feyer a is con fiden t an d sk il l ed. ?I was wor r ied after th e su r ger y wh en th ey pu t th e patch on m y eye bu t wh en th ey took it off, I was ver y h appy,? H awiti said. ?I fel t fr ee wh en th ey took th e patch off.

I h ave better vision n ow an d th e pain is r edu ced. It?s stil l sor e becau se of th e wou n d bu t m u ch better al r eady. I bl ess you an d al l

th e team m em ber s for givin g m e better sigh t.?

H awiti r eveal ed sh e h as been u n abl e to h el p h er fam il y for a year pr ior to th e su r ger y becau se of th e ter r ibl e pain in h er eyes. ?I u su al l y cook for m y ch il dr en an d fam il y m em ber s, bu t I can ?t becau se of th e pr obl em s with m y eyes. As l on g as I am su r vivin g with m y fam il y m em ber s, I am r eady to cook an d feed th e fam il y.?

Sh e?s m ost l ook in g for war d to m ak in g In jer a, th e n ation al dish of Eth iopia, a sou r dou gh -r isen fl atbr ead with a sl igh tl y spon gy textu r e tr adition al l y m ade fr om teff fl ou r. ?W h en I was h eal th y,I u sed to cook in jer a an d dor o wot (a tr adition al ch ick en stew) bu t becau se of m y eye pr obl em s I?ve n ot been abl e to, so I h ave a pl an

to go back to cook in g to feed m y fam il y. I?ve n ot been active in th e past year.? H awiti is al so k een to see h er fou r gr an dch il dr en ? aged two to seven ? an d spen din g tim e with th em .

W h en H awiti was tak en back h om e by th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation , h er en tir e vil l age cam e ou t to gr eet h er. W e ask H awiti wh er e th e n ear est water sou r ce is, an d sh e poin ts in th e dir ection beh in d h er m u d h u t. It is abou t a two k il om etr e wal k to th e pon d wh er e sh e an d th e oth er vil l ager s get th eir water.

Bu t th e pon d is sh ar ed with th e l ivestock an d poses ser iou s h eal th con cer n s. Sh e says th e vil l age u sed to h ave a water pu m p, bu t it?s been br ok en for th e past six year s.

Ending Trachoma Ach i ev i n g Gen d er Equ i t y In 2021, 23 cou n tr ies r epor ted gen der -disaggr egated tr ach om a data, r epr esen tin g 95 per cen t of al l peopl e tr eated gl obal l y. In th ese ar eas, 51 per cen t of tr eated in dividu al s wer e fem al e, sign al in g th at gen der equ ity is bein g ach ieved: In ter n ation al Coal ition For Tr ach om a Con tr ol Azm er a , 25, h as two ch il dr en , a gir l , H abtam n esh ,12, an d a boy, Der ese,10. Azm er a h ad bil ater al l ower l id tr ach iasis. Usu al l y it is th e u pper l id in -tu r n in g, bu t in h er case it was th e l ower l id. Th e cor r ection was beau tifu l accor din g to Dr W on du . Th e eyel ash es ar e n ow ou tu r n ed an d h er cor n ea h as been spar ed fr om scar r in g. Sh e h ad been exper ien cin g pain for six year s.

Sh e u sed th e W or r en to (tweezer s) to pu l l ou t h er eyel ash es ?

I t hought I was going t o go blind one day. When t he pat ch was r emoved and I could see w it hout pain I was ext r emely happy. I w ill now wor k and live my life and I can t ake car e of my k ids bet t er ?

Fa t um a M am a, 37, is a m oth er of five ch il dr en . ?I feel good today,I?m so h appy. Pr eviou sl y,I was n ot abl e to see peopl e. I saw dou bl e. Now I?m h avin g good vision . Not h avin g th e pain is a r el ief. Befor e I cou l d n ot go ou tside th e h ou se al on e. I h ad difficu l ty cook in g an d car in g for m y ch il dr en .?

?Now I can see and be independent . I w ill not be dependent on ot her s.?

Fatu m a?s h u sban d u sed to h el p fetch water an d with th e ch or es wh il e sh e was su ffer in g fr om a ver y bad case of tr ich iasis. ?W e h ave a pon d for cl ean in g th in gs an d h ave to car r y water 20k m on don k ey?s back .? Sh e h as h ad tr ach om a for two year s, in addition to on e year of h er case wor sen in g. wh en h er 16-year -ol d dau gh ter got abdu cted an d was Fatu m a h ad an appoin tm en t at th e for ced to m ar r y so sh e wasn ?t abl e to com e to th e appoin tm en t. Bu t as th e pain got wor se Fatu m a cam e cl in ic six m on th s pr ior to h er back for su r ger y. actu al l y visit, bu t tr agedy befel l

?I am Because

WeAre?

A conver sat ion w it h Ir aqi-Aust r alian jour nalist , pr esent er, speaker, st or yt eller and The Fr ed Hollows Foundat ion Ambassador, Sally Mousa

I w ou ld lik e t o begin by you t ellin g u s abou t you r self ? w h o is Sally M ou sa?

I am an Iraqi-Australian international speaker and presenter, and someone who has been lucky enough to interview some of the most influential people in the world across every field.

From Nobel laureates to royalty to business leaders and heads of state to celebrities and superstars, my passion is for uncovering the stories of the people who have had an incredible impact and sharing them with a global audience across more than 50 countries.

As a little girl, my family migrated from the Middle East to Australia, where we built our new home. That move is pivotal to who I am today, because growing up I never saw anyone who looked like me or had an Arab name in the media. Arabs and Muslims were always portrayed as terrorists, and Muslim women in particular were always portrayed as powerless, oppressed victims, the complete opposite of every Muslim woman that I had ever known.

I realized that to see change, we had to start telling our own stories instead of letting others hijack the narrative. That?s why I got into radio 20 years ago, where I and other young Muslims started producing programs which spoke to a whole new generation that is now actively shaping Australian society.

As a speaker, I am often asked to speak about transformation, and at the very heart of that, is the story of our identity. Most of us have not really reflected on the power of our own story to direct our life destiny and to influence others, but

through my work over the years I have realized that storytelling is the most powerful tool we have, to both transform our lives and to inspire others. This is the driving force behind what I do.

Over t h e year s, you h ave n ot ju st pr esen t ed bu t also cr eat ed an d pr odu ced som e of t h e m ost en gagin g even t s an d pr ogr am s f ocu sin g h ealt h , edu cat ion , developm en t , t h e ar t s an d t h e list goes on , w h at ar e som e of t h e h igh ligh t s of you r st ellar car eer ?

When I interview the world?s most successful people, I want to know the person behind the glitz and the accolades. The most pivotal moments in our lives are often the darkest. One of my favourite moments was interviewing Chris Gardner, the CEO of Happyness, and the man who was portrayed by Will Smith in the movie about his life, the Pursuit of Happyness.

He spoke to me about the books that rescued him from the abuse that he experienced from his own father at home, and the power that stories gave him to seek a better life for himself and his son. I was honoured simply to be able to interview him, but totally unexpectedly, he encouraged me to pursue my own dreams and to truly find my own voice. This is a man who does not go a day without hearing from people around the world who tell him how his story changed their life, and here he was, looking me in the eye, and saying, ?Sally, this is the time to make your mark. Time is of the essence!?

Doing what I do has taught me that when you succeed, you never succeed alone. When you

overcome your greatest struggles, others will see you do what they thought they couldn?t, and that can be the catalyst for them to do what they previously thought was impossible for them.

You ar e passion at e abou t em pow er m en t , cr oss-cu lt u r al in t er f ait h u n der st an din g, t ell u s m or e abou t you r vision an d t h e w or k you h ave don e?

I was at university when the September 11 happened. I remember seeing it all unfold on TV and knowing life would never be the same. That was a turning point for Muslims globally, especially Muslim women who were attacked and had their scarves ripped off their heads. We saw fear and division take over, and we needed to be louder as the voices of unity. As a leader in the Australian Musim community at the time, I was determined to break down the destructive stereotypes. We needed to know that as Australians, we are stronger in our diversity, not weakened by it. My work in leadership and community development as well as media has always focused on telling the diverse stories of those who are not normally given the mic. It?s understanding that we have so much more in common than we

think, despite our differences. This vision is central to the Islamic faith, and is ultimately understood through the beautiful African philosophy called ?Ubuntu?, meaning ?I am because we are.?

It?s the ultimate expression of humanity which understands that our actions affect others beyond what we see and feel. It is understanding that when we act with empathy and compassion towards others, not only are we elevated individually, but we also become stronger together.

Talk in g abou t vision , you ar e Th e Fr ed Hollow s Fou n dat ion?s am bassador . Tell u s h ow t h is r elat ion sh ip began , w h y, an d you r f at h er ?s (?? ? ? ? ?? ? ?) in f lu en ce on you ?

The late Professor Fred Hollows is a legend. I grew up watching him on TV, as hededicated his life to ending avoidable blindness. He worked tirelessly to restore sight to thousands of people, both in Australia and around the world, as well as training countless eye doctors to do the same.

At the same time, my Dad practiced as an optometrist all his life, and he was outstanding at what he did. It was not just a job to him, but he was incredibly passionate about his work and wanted to make sure that

everyone who came across his path got the best eye care possible. He loved his work so much that it really impacted me, and it made me realise what an incredible gift sight is, and how important it was to take care of our eyes. That is why now, more than a decade after he has passed away, it was incredibly special for me to be asked to become ambassador for the Fred Hollows Foundation. It truly is a full-circle moment for me and I know my dad would have been so proud.

Do t ell u s m or e abou t you r w or k at t h e Fou n dat ion an d w h at do you h ope t o ach ieve?

Most people do not think of blindness as curable. When I became ambassador, I was shocked to find out that 9 out of 10 people who are blind didn?t need to be, and that in some countries restoring someone?s sight can be done for as little as $25. It is mind-blowing to me that we can give someone the priceless gift of sight for the cost of buying lunch.

But even more amazing is that when you restore one person?s sight, you not only change their life, but you change their family?s lives as well. Their community is transformed because they see (literally and figuratively) possibilities that they didn?t even realise existed! A mother is able to take care of her children again, a father can provide for his family, a child can go to school, a woman can work to become financially independent, and their communities are uplifted economically as a result. The impact is truly staggering.

As an ambassador, my role is to raise awareness around this, and to

help people realise that we can do so much with so little, and change so many lives in the process.

Wh at k in d of im pact h ave you w it n essed as f ar as t h e Fr ed Hollow s Fou n dat ion is con cer n ed?

The Fred Hollows Foundation has restored sight to more than three million people across 25 countries around the world. But while the numbers are astonishing, it means so much more when we see the individual stories of each person who is impacted.

One story that stands out for me is the story of a little girl from Kenya called Faith, who was actually abandoned by her parents because they couldn?t afford to take care of a blind child. She was left with her Aunt Helen, who was told by everyone in the community that this is God?s will, there?s nothing that can be done.

Her aunt didn?t give up and put Faith on her back and walked 25 km to the nearest clinic where

there was a Fred Hollows Foundation-trained health worker who saw her. They realized she had cataract which they could cure.

Th e Fou n dat ion is celebr at in g 30 year s of im pact f u l ch an gem ak in g t h is year , an y last w or ds also f ocu sin g t h at ?

Professor Fred Hollows lived by The Foundation took her to the the philosophy that ?We discover nearest eye hospital, five hours our own humanity when we help away where they performed the others? and he inspired many to pediatric surgery. do the same, and I?m The next day after sure you?ll agree that her surgery she this is exactly what While could see. When the world needs right 43 million she could see, the now. people ar e blind first thing that As the Foundation Faith said to her t oday, if we don?t celebrates its Aunt Helen was, act now, by 20 50 it is 30th anniversary this ?give me a pen, I year, I couldn?t be est imat ed t hat mor e want to go school!? prouder of the work She wanted to t han 61 million people that they are doing at build her Aunt w ill become blind. The every level. They are Helen a better wor k of t he foundat ion not only performing house. life-changing

has never been mor e

But that isn?t even surgeries to restore impor t ant , and w it h the best part. The sight, but they are best part of these t hem, each and ever y also training local stories, is when people in affected one of us can that little girl went areas to be doctors change back to her village and practitioners who someone? s and her could do the work community, themselves and in life. suddenly the turn train others. entire community While 43 million saw possibilities people are blind today, if we don?t for their health that they didn?t act now, by 2050 it is estimated even know existed, Suddenly you that more than 61 million people have not only empowered an will become blind. The work of the individual, but you have foundation has never been more empowered entire families, important, and with them, each communities and bolstered and every one of us can change economies. The ripple effect of someone?s life. these surgeries is massive, Questions by Sabin Muzaffar particularly where women are concerned!

Once we go out on our the field visits, we?ll see the work that the foundation does for ourselves, and these are the stories that I cannot wait to tell.

EnvisioningA A Envisioning New Lease Leaseof of New Life Life

Rea l St or i es Rea l Li ves

M or iu m Kh atu n , a 40 pl u s Roh in gya wom an with bil ater al catar act, was bl in d for 10 year s an d h ad n ot seen h er son M oh am m ad, 14, du e to h er pr edicam en t.

W h en th e viol en ce began in h er vil l age, M or iu m an d M oh am m ad n eeded to escape M yan m ar qu ick l y.

Sol dier s fr om th e M yan m ar ar m y h ad cl osed in on th eir h om e. As th e fam il y fl ed to Ban gl adesh , M or iu m ?s h u sban d was k il l ed by th e m il itar y.

M or iu m an d M oh am m ad k n ew th ey cou l d n ot m ak e th e ar du ou s jou r n ey on th eir own . So th ey h ir ed som eon e to h el p M oh am m ad car r y h er on th e jou r n ey. ?W h en we cam e fr om M yan m ar , we h ir ed a per son an d tied m y m oth er in a l on gyi (a type of sar on g) an d tied it between bam boo pol es,? M oh am m ad said.

Th e m ak esh ift str etch er saved h is m u m ?s l ife. ?It took 12 days. W e h ad to u se sever al l on gyi as som e br ok e.?

Th ey cr ossed th e h il l y ar eas of th e bor der an d th r ou gh el ectr ic wir e to r each Ban gl adesh .

Safe in th e r efu gee cam p n ear Cox?s Bazar in Ban gl adesh , M or iu m was abl e access th e sigh t-savin g su r ger y sh e n eeded.

Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation was th e fir st or gan isation to tr eat som e of th e th ou san ds of Roh in gya peopl e with eye con dition s, in cl u din g M or iu m .

M an y qu eu ed al l day in th e h ot su n to h ave th eir eyes scr een ed, h opin g for su r ger y to r estor e th eir sigh t. Local doctor s estim ate 50,000 Roh in gya peopl e n eed catar act su r ger y.

After 10 year s of bl in dn ess, M or iu m was desper ate to see M oh am m ad for th e fir st tim e sin ce h e was fou r year s ol d. ?I am in ter ested to see n ow wh at h e l ook s l ik e. H e wil l h ave r eal l y

ch an ged.?

After th e su r ger y, M or iu m was del igh ted. ?I am so h appy.

W h en I go back (to th e cam p), I wil l see ever yth in g.

I?l l be so h appy becau se ever yth in g is n ew. ?I am so h appy fr om m y h ear t.?

Th e jou r n ey to M or iu m ?s h om e deep in th e r efu gee cam p tak es abou t 90 m in u tes, th r ou gh secu r ity ch eck -poin ts an d acr oss th e du sty m ak esh ift r oads.

Th e h om e sh e an d M oh am m ad sh ar e is a sim pl e str u ctu r e of bam boo an d can vas, on e of th ou san ds dottin g th e l an dscape.

Th e sm al l r oom h as a r aised pl atfor m an d a fir e pit for cook in g.

M or iu m descr ibed th e m om en t sh e fin al l y l aid eyes on M oh am m ad. ?I was a bit con fu sed wh en I saw h im ? m y boy is ver y h an dsom e. I am ver y h appy to see h im . ?H e is better l ook in g th an h is fath er ,? sh e added, as sh e pl ayfu l l y tou ch es h is face with h er h an ds.

M oh am m ad was al so pl eased th at th e su r ger y h as en abl ed h is m u m to car e for h im an d tak e over m an y

of th e task s h e h as been tr yin g to do. ?H er food is tastier ,? h e said, an d th ey both l au gh ed. ?Befor e th e catar act su r ger y I cou l dn ?t cook so h e h ad to h el p m e,? M or iu m expl ain s. ?Now I can cook an d su ppor t m y fam il y.?

M oh am m ad descr ibes th e egg cu r r y h is m oth er m ade on h er fir st n igh t an d h e h opes sh e wil l m ak e ch ick en cu r r y ton igh t. It is cl ear th at sigh t-savin g su r ger y h as str en gth en ed th e bon d between m oth er an d son .

Embedding H u m an Righ ts in Pol icy For Bet t er Public Healt h Int er vent ions

The Fr ed Hollows Foundat ion's Head of Public Policy and Advocacy, Br andon Ah Tong, in conver sat ion w it h Sabin M u zaffar about t he cr it ical r ole of human-r ight s-based policy-mak ing and how advocacy plays an impor t ant par t in impr oving public healt h, especially eye healt h int er vent ions.

Br an d on , y ou h av e u n i qu e r ol e ? n ot ju st h ead i n g p u bl i c p ol i cy an d ad v ocacy at t h e Fr ed H ol l ow s Fou n d at i on ? y ou ar e al so a st ak eh ol d er r ep r esen t i n g t h e v i si on i m p ai r ed an d bl i n d com m u n i t y. Can y ou t el l u s a bi t abou t y ou r sel f ?

I've actu al l y been wor k in g in th e eye h eal th sector for 15 pl u s year s n ow. Pr obabl y h al f of m y tim e h as been spen t m or e in th e bl in dn ess an d disabil ity ar eas fr om th e h u m an r igh ts side. An d th en th e l ast pr obabl y h al f of th at tim e h as r eal l y been in th e eye h eal th side of th e spectr u m .

Bu t r eal l y,I l ik e to sor t of see it as par t of th e en tir e pictu r e ar ou n d eye h eal th fr om bl in dn ess

th r ou gh to tr eatm en t.

M y back gr ou n d in ter m s of for m al tr ain in g is in social scien ces an d pol icy,so I've al ways wor k ed in th is space. I'm al so bl in d m ysel f. I h ave a con dition th at I was bor n with .

Bu t I'm th e on l y per son in m y fam il y with th is con dition , even acr oss al l m y exten ded fam il y. I on l y star ted h avin g m y vision deter ior ate, pr obabl y in m y 20s.

So wh en I was abou t 26 or 27, I was stil l abl e to dr ive, pl ay r u gby an d al l sor ts of th in gs. Bu t th en , m y vision star ted to deter ior ate pr etty qu ick l y. Over th e fol l owin g ten year s, in m y m id 30s, m y vision deter ior ated. Now I on l y h ave l igh t per ception an d it's n ot ver y cl ear. It's defin ed as

sor t of l ik e per ception al bl in dn ess. So I gu ess fr om th at fr om th at an gl e I've got a bit of an in ter est in both th e exper ien ce of l ivin g with bl in dn ess an d an affin ity towar ds th e wor k th at we do h er e at th e fou n dation , wh ich is a pr im ar il y ar ou n d pr even tion an d tr eatm en t.

dir ection for pr ogr am m atic or pr oject based as wel l as oth er pu bl ic h eal th in ter ven tion s.

So th at's th e r ol e I see of pol icy an d of cou r se you n eed th e m acr o an d th e m icr o (aspects).

Th ey go h an d in h an d an d wor k togeth er. On th e on e h an d, it's r eal l y im por tan t to tr y an d pr ovide pol icy gu idan ce or to To be abl e to advocate for a r estor e sigh t for cer tain pol icy,bu t peopl e wh o wh at r eal l y is h aven 't h ad im por tan t is h ow access to eye th at pol icy is h eal th ser vices im pl em en ted in Advoca cy i s an d tr eatm en ts in pr actice. M y own th e past. It is qu ite par ticu l ar in ter est r ea lly t he a ct a u n iqu e in sigh t I an d I th in k m y own of per sua di ng th in k . sor t of sk il l s an d or i nfluenci ng back gr ou n d is You 'r e t al k i n g towar ds th e m acr o abou t p ol i cy. deci si on m a ker s l evel ; a h igh er l evel W h at i s t h e settin gs an d in t owa r ds cr ea t i ng of i m p or t an ce of ter m s of wh y it's t h at con n ect i on t hose cha nges or im por tan t to do th at bet w een p ol i cy for devel opm en t. pushi ng an d ad v ocacy as W h y it's im por tan t f ar as p u bl i c to h ave th at m acr o t owa r ds h eal t h i s or th at pol icy l evel is con cer n ed ? An d pa r t i cula r becau se if you 'r e of cou r se, by abl e to fin d a system set t i ngs. ex t en si on , ey e l evel or system ic h eal t h an d way of cr eatin g br i n gi n g i n y ou r ch an ge acr oss ow n ex p er i en ces m u l tipl e settin gs, t o i t as w el l . acr oss m u l tipl e actor s, I k in d of see th at as a I l ik e to th in k of th e r ol e of good way or efficien t way of pol icy as bein g th e k in d of h igh pr ovidin g faster access to l evel settin gs or par am eter s th at ch an ge. tr y to gu ide action s towar ds a par ticu l ar ou tcom e. Th e wor k Th is is wh y I fin d m ysel f th at I've been doin g for a l on g gr avitatin g towar ds pol icy wor k tim e is r eal l y abou t tr yin g to an d if I ju st tou ch on th e m ove, cr eate, adju st an d you advocacy poin t as you sor t of k n ow pu sh gover n m en t l evel m en tion ed befor e. Advocacy is pol icy towar ds th e par ticu l ar r eal l y th e act of per su adin g or settin gs th at wil l eith er im pr ove in fl u en cin g decision m ak er s access to eye h eal th or tr y to towar ds cr eatin g th ose ch an ges pr ovide cl ar ity ar ou n d, for or pu sh in g towar ds par ticu l ar exam pl e fin an cin g. H ow eye settin gs. H er e at th e Fr ed h eal th sh ou l d be fin an ced or H ol l ows Fou n dation , we tal k h ow can we im pr ove th e abou t advocacy bein g a m an aged wor k for ce. I sor t of see th at h igh an d del iber ate pr ocess. You n eed l evel settin gs pr ovide su ch to k n ow wh at you 'r e aim in g to

ach ieve, n eed to h ave a cl ear sen se of wh o th ose decision m ak er s ar e.

You k n ow, wh at in for m ation or eviden ce wou l d h el p to per su ade th em . Bu t you al so n eed to u n der stan d wh y.

You 'r e l ook in g to m ak e th ose ch an ges, an d I th in k advocacy is r eal l y th e ar t of tr yin g to br in g al l th ese th in gs togeth er to cr eate coh esive ch an ge.

If I th in k abou t m y own r ol e h er e at th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation .

M y r ol e is th e h ead of pu bl ic pol icy an d advocacy. It is r eal l y at a gl obal or m u l til ater al l evel . I often th in k of or tal k abou t th e wor k th at we do in ter m s of n or m ative ch an ge an d by n or m ative ch an ge, I m ean in ter m s of tr yin g to l ook at h ow we r efr am e h ow we tal k abou t eye h eal th . H ow we tal k abou t bl in dn ess an d vision im pair m en t. You k n ow th is space th at we see ou r sel ves in an d I can give you an exam pl e of wh at I m ean by th at. If you go back , l et's say to five year s. Th e Su stain abl e Devel opm en t Goal s (SDGs) h ad been r el eased in 2015. W e h ave th ese 17 h igh l evel goal s, 169 tar gets th at sit u n der n eath th ose an d th en th er e's l ik e an oth er 232 in dicator s. W e can defin itel y see eye h eal th acr oss m an y,m an y goal s an d see h ow it con tr ibu tes to th em . Bu t th e r eal ity is th e wor l d h asn 't r eal l y seen eye h eal th in th ose ter m s befor e.

At th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation , m y team is wor k in g with oth er s in th e sector ,l ik e th e

In ter n ation al Agen cy for th e Pr even tion of Bl in dn ess an d th e W or l d H eal th Or gan ization as wel l . It's r eal l y been abou t (placing) eye h eal th with in th e SDG's. Th er e h as al so been r esear ch don e. W e h ave su ppor ted th e in cl u sion of eye h eal th in th e SDGs in a r esol u tion passed by th e W or l d H eal th Assem bl y back in 2020, wh ich is actu al l y th e decision m ak in g body for th e W or l d H eal th Or gan ization . W e al so su ppor ted wor k with Th e Lan cet Gl obal H eal th Com m ission on Gl obal Eye H eal th th at r eal l y tr ied to tak e a step for war d an d seein g eye h eal th as a devel opm en t issu e. Th e UN Gen er al Assem bl y al so adopted its fir st stan dal on e r esol u tion th at was dedicated to eye h eal th itsel f.

Th e focu s was on h ow eye h eal th can be an en abl er to accel er atin g pr ogr ess towar ds ach ievin g th e SDG's. So n ow you can see five year s ago eye h eal th wou l dn 't be seen in th at l igh t at al l . Now you can see h ow eye h eal th is bein g r efr am ed. Th er e ar e r esol u tion s at th e gl obal l evel th at tal k abou t h ow eye h eal th is r el evan t for th e SDG's an d th at n or m ative sh ift is

com in g back to th e con ver sation abou t pol icy. W h at ou r team is r eal l y tr yin g is to cr eate th at n or m ative ch an ge an d al so em bed th is vision (of eye health as an enabler ) in pol icy as par t of ou r im pl em en tation str ategy.

H ow d i d y ou r jou r n ey at t h e Fr ed H ol l ow s Fou n d at i on began .

I h ave been wor k in g at th e Fou n dation for over six year s n ow. Befor e wor k in g at th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation , I wor k ed for th e n ation al body for eye h eal th an d vision car e, wh ich is cal l ed Vision 2020 Au str al ia. Th at or gan ization focu ses dom estical l y,bu t it al so h as a r ol e in advocatin g an d pr ovidin g gu idan ce ar ou n d wh at th e Au str al ian gover n m en t does in th e r egion .

So th er e's a gl obal com pon en t th er e as wel l an d I was th e Dir ector of Pol icy an d Advocacy at th e Vision 2020 Au str al ia an d Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation is a m em ber of Vision 2020. I h ad wor k ed with th e Fou n dation for qu ite a bit.

An d at th e tim e, th er e was an oppor tu n ity to m ove to th e Fou n dation to do som e of th is m or e, m or e of th e gl obal m u l til ater al wor k . I ju m ped at th at oppor tu n ity.

You n eed differ en t peopl e with differ en t sk il l s. Th ey h ave differ en t in ter ests with differ en t exper ien ces an d back gr ou n ds to sor t of com e togeth er. I gr avitate towar ds m or e system ic wor k so th e oppor tu n ity to tr y an d sh ape gl obal pol icy was h u gel y excitin g for m e an d th at's h ow I star ted

wor k in g with th e Fou n dation .

Th e t er m h u m an r i gh t s based p ol i cy i s a cr i t i cal t er m t h at n eed s t o be u n d er st ood an d i t i s essen t i al t h at w or k t o be i m p l em en t ed i s d on e t h r ou gh t h i s l en s. Un d er st an d i n g t h i s ap p r oach i s i m p or t an t , w ou l d n ?t y ou agr ee?

Th is is r eal l y a good qu estion . I see h u m an r igh ts as som eth in g qu ite evol vin g. W e h ave in ter n ation al h u m an r igh ts tr eaties an d in ter n ation al h u m an r igh ts n or m s th at go back 70 year s th r ou gh th e Un ited Nation s system itsel f. On th e on e h an d, it seem s th at th ey ar e qu ite static, bu t fr om an oth er per spective.

H ow you actu al l y em bed a h u m an r igh ts appr oach to you r wor k evol ves over tim e. By th at I m ean if you l ook at th e cen tr al ten an t of th e Su stain abl e Devel opm en t Goal s, it's ar ou n d th is con cept of l eavin g n o on e beh in d. Now th at in itsel f is a h u m an r igh ts con cept. For u s, h ow we l ook at tak in g a h u m an r igh ts appr oach , it's abou t en su r in g th at you k n ow differ en t.

Peopl e, wh eth er you h ave m on ey or you don 't h ave m on ey,wh er e you l ive, you r eth n icity,you r eth n ic back gr ou n d, you r gen der wh eth er you ?r e a m an or a wom an , or oth er wise, we h ave a r ol e to en su r e th at an y of th ose back gr ou n ds or th ose attr ibu tes do n ot in ter fer e with th e way in wh ich you h ave access to eye h eal th an d I car e. Tak in g a h u m an r igh ts based appr oach is ou r way of en su r in g th at avail abil ity an d access is open to

ever ybody h as access to eye car e ser vices.

It al so exten ds to th e wor k especial l y wor k in g with ou r par tn er s an d cou n tr ies. Ou r r ol e is r eal l y k in d of tr yin g to cr eate system ic ch an ge an d h eal th system ch an ge. W e wor k with par tn er s ar ou n d tr ain in g, h eal th pr ofession al s, so th at sam e con cept of en su r in g th at peopl e wh o n eed ou r h eal th ser vices can get access to car e. Th at sam e idea fl ows th r ou gh to wh o can we h el p to tar get tr ain in g doctor s an d com m u n ity h eal th wor k er s an d n u r ses an d so for th .

ever yon e. W e wil l tr y an d pu t specific th in gs in pl ace to m ak e su r e th at peopl e don 't m iss ou t or peopl e ar en 't l eft beh in d. So again , I th in k by tak in g a h u m an r igh ts based appr oach at th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation , we ar e m ak in g it ou r r espon sibil ity,an obl igation to tr y an d do wh atever we can to m ak e su r e th at peopl e fr om differ en t wal k s of l ife or differ en t back gr ou n ds, th at

Tal k in g abou t h eal th wor k for ce, abou t 70 per cen t ar e m ade-u p of wom en , bu t on l y 25 per cen t of al l h eal th wor k er s ar e in th ose m or e sen ior r ol es, wh ich by exten sion m ean s th at we n eed to do som eth in g specific abou t tr yin g to en su r e th at wom en 's l eader sh ip is r ecogn ized. An d, th at we cr eate path ways for wom en to n ot ju st get in to th e wor k for ce, bu t al so fin d r ou tes to l eader sh ip position s. Th er efor e, in tak in g a h u m an r igh ts based appr oach , we ar e tr yin g to be del iber ate abou t wh at we do in ou r wor k to en su r e th at peopl e

ar e in cl u ded.

Th i s h as been an en l i gh t en i n g d i scu ssi on an d u n f or t u n at el y I com e t o t h e l ast qu est i on . Th e f ou n d at i on i s cel ebr at i n g 30 y ear s of ch an ge m ak i n g w or k .

Do y ou h av e an y l ast w or d s?

In ter estin gl y,Pr ofessor Fr ed H ol l ows, th e m an h im sel f actu al l y com es fr om th e sam e town fr om wh er e I h ail in New Zeal an d. It?s a sm al l town cal l ed Du n edin . Th is is a ver y n ice l in k with Pr ofessor Fr ed, h im sel f. Bu t you k n ow, I th in k we as a fou n dation r eal l y tak e in th e way with wh ich Pr ofessor H ol l ows appr oach ed h is wor k . I m ean , h e was an oph th al m ol ogist an d h e r eal l y ch am pion ed th e n eed to go fu r th er ,to tak e th e n ext m ean in gfu l steps an d m ean in gfu l action .

So I th in k wor k in g for th e fou n dation , wh ich is an em bodim en t of Pr ofessor H ol l ows h im sel f an d h is per son al ity is r eal l y excitin g becau se ou r cu l tu r e is th at we n eed to tr y an d pu sh ou r sel ves h ar der to do m or e an d do better.

So I fin d th at, r eal l y in spir in g

an d qu ite h u m bl in g to be par t of its cu l tu r e. Th er e ar e so m an y statistics th at we can tal k abou t th e wor k we do. W e h ave r estor ed sigh t for over th r ee m il l ion peopl e. W e h ave pr ovided an tibiotics for m or e th an 200 m il l ion peopl e. Even if we th in k abou t th e l ast five year s, we h ave tr ain ed m or e th an 730 su r geon s. M or e th an 230,000 com m u n ity h eal th wor k er s h ave been tr ain ed. So for m e again it com es back th e pr ide of bein g par t of an or gan ization th at str ives to do m or e an d do better.

The inter view has been lightly edited for clar ity.

Enabling t he Power of Vision For A Bet t er Fut ur e I n conver sation with M edia Per sonality & The Fr ed H ollows Foundation Am bassador Sha hd Al Jum a i ly.

L et u s begi n by y ou t el l i n g u s abou t y ou r sel f ?

M y n am e is Sh ah d Al Ju m ail y,I?m an Ir aqi ar ch itect, Even ts pl an n er , an d TV h ost. I?ve been l ivin g in th e UAE for over 15 year s, an d I con sider it m y secon d h om e wh er e I stu died an d star ted m y bu sin ess.

W i t h y ou r i m m en se bod y of w or k as a m ed i a p er son al i t y an d i n f l u en cer , w h at ar e som e of t h e h i gh l i gh t s of y ou r st el l ar car eer ?

I?ve been th r ou gh m an y differ en t stages in m y car eer an d I l oved watch in g it evol ve as I got ol der , fr om star tin g m y own bu sin ess as a stu den t to open in g m y even ts

"Doing t he best we can, all of us as individuals, t o help people get t heir lives back and give t hem a bet t er f ut ur e. This is t he power of vision, it impr oves not only t he life of t he per son suf fer ing, but also ever yone ar ound him/her, t heir families, and t he societ y as a whole." com pan y after gr adu ation , each step was a h igh l igh t for m e at th e tim e. On e of th e th in gs I val u e th e m ost is h ostin g m y tal k sh ow on M BC Ir aq, becau se I was abl e to discu ss con tr over sial topics th at ar e m ain l y focu sed on wom en an d gave th em a pl atfor m to sh ar e th eir stor ies.

You h av e been ap p oi n t ed r ecen t l y t o becom e Th e Fr ed H ol l ow s Fou n d at i on ?s am bassad or . Tel l u s h ow t h i s r el at i on sh i p began an d w h y ?

I was h on or ed to be ch osen by Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation to be on e of th eir am bassador s in th e M iddl e East. I was m or e th an h appy to join th is r ol e becau se of th e in cr edibl e wor k an d val u es th at th is fou n dation focu ses on , especial l y

th at it sh eds l igh t on wom en in m an y str u ggl in g cou n tr ies. W e star ted by discu ssin g ou r ideas an d fu tu r e pr ojects, wh ich can h el p pr om ote th is vision in th e best way possibl e, an d th e r el ation sh ip gr ew fr om th er e.

W h at d oes i t m ean ?en d i n g av oi d abl e bl i n d n ess an d v i si on i m p ai r ed ? t o Sh ah d ?

It m ean s doin g th e best we can , al l of u s as in dividu al s, to h el p peopl e get th eir l ives back an d give th em a better fu tu r e. Th is is th e power of vision , it im pr oves n ot on l y th e l ife of th e per son su ffer in g, bu t al so ever yon e ar ou n d h im / h er ,th eir fam il ies, an d th e society as a wh ol e.

Especial l y,90 per cen t of bl in dn ess an d vision l oss can be pr even ted or tr eated u sin g k n own sol u tion s.

Bei n g a m ed i a p er son al i t y an d i n f l u en cer , h ow can y ou p l ay an i n f l u en ci n g r ol e t o con t r i bu t e t o Th e Fou n d at i on ?s v i si on : cr eat e a w or l d i n w h i ch n o p er son i s n eed l essl y bl i n d or v i si on i m p ai r ed .

I th in k th e m ain focu s is to del iver th e m essage, as sim pl e as th at.

Awar en ess is a ver y power fu l th in g, som etim es th er e ar e n o sol u tion s sim pl y becau se peopl e ar en ?t awar e of th em . Ou r m ission is to sh ed l igh t on th e issu e, an d expl ain h ow sim pl e an d attain abl e th e sol u tion is. Th at on its own can ch an ge l ives.

Th e Fou n d at i on i s cel ebr at i n g 30 y ear s of i m p act f u l ch an gem ak i n g t h i s y ear , an y l ast w or d s?

I?m beyon d pr ou d of al l th e wor k th at Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation h as ach ieved th r ou gh ou t th ese year s, an d even m or e pr ou d th at I can be a par t of it an d su ppor t in an y way possibl e. I h ope th at th is vision an d m essage con tin u es to gr ow, r each in g an d h el pin g as m an y peopl e as possibl e fr om al l over th e wor l d, th at?s th e best th in g we can do for ou r societies an d peopl e.

Inf luencing Changemak ing Thr ough Media I n conver sation with M edia Per sonality & The Fr ed H ollows Foundation Am bassador

Fat ima Alwar d Aldar mak i.

Let u s begin by you t ellin g u s abou t you r self ?

I am a simple, hardworking, and optimistic person who loves to help others. I always strive for integrity, perfection, and success.

Wit h you r im m en se body of w or k as a m edia per son alit y an d in f lu en cer , w h at ar e som e of t h e h igh ligh t s of you r st ellar car eer ?

Currently I´ m working for Abu Dhabi Media and specifically as a journalist for Al-Ittihad

Cur r ent ly 43 million people ar ound t he wor ld ar e blind and 1.1 billion live w it h some for m of vision loss. About 90 per cent of t hose af fect ed live in low-income and middle-income count r ies. Women and gir ls account for 55 per cent of t he wor ld?s blind and vision impair ed.

Newspaper. I have more than 15 years of experience as a news anchor and previously hosted a number of local programs at Sama Dubai, Dubai Channel, Emarat TV and Abu Dhabi TV; not only covering local news but also regional and foreign affairs.

I was one of the first Emirati female anchors who specialized in covering financial and economic news. In fact, I was the only female

in a male dominated workplace.

Currently I am a member at UAE Journalists Association, Federation of Arab Journalists as well as the International Federation of Journalists. I was awarded the Best Anchor in Yas Excellence Award for 2019. I was nominated for ?outstanding employee? award in Dubai Government Excellence Award 2009. I won the first place in Habib Al Reda Award for Media Creativity for the year 2007.

Furthermore, I was the first Emirati to who published a post-graduate research on Expo 2020 Dubai. And one of my work experiences that I´ m most proud of is my extensive media coverage of eye health projects in North Africa over the years of 2018 and 2019.

You h ave been appoin t ed r ecen t ly t o becom e Th e Fr ed Hollow s Fou n dat ion?s am bassador . Tell u s h ow t h is r elat ion sh ip began an d w h y?

To be selected as the first Emirati and the first woman from the Arabian Gulf for this role made me feel extremely happy. I found that it is worth participating and will give me a great opportunity to help in creating a world where no person is needlessly blind or vision impaired. Currently 43 million people around the world are blind and 1.1 billion live with some form of vision loss. About 90 per cent of those affected live in low-income and middle-income countries. Women and girls account for 55 percent of the world?s blind and vision impaired.

If we don?t act now by 2050 it is estimated more than 61 million people will be blind. However, The Foundation can fix the problem.

More than 90 per cent of vision loss is preventable or treatable and we can address it using existing highly cost-effective interventions. I hope I will play a role to support eye health cause and the Fred Hollows Foundation is giving me the opportunity by allowing me to optimize my influence, media skills and expertise to serve important cause at regional and international levels. The Foundation is a leading international development organization that has restored sight to more than three million people around the world. This helps me invest my influence capacity and use my digital media platforms to introduce the foundation and raise public awareness and education about avoidable blindness and vision loss. That was the first reason why I accepted this role. The second reason is ending vision loss is a cause that is close to my heart.

Both of my parents suffered from avoidable blindness and received many surgeries to restore their eyesight. Therefore I would like to help who are in need to access eyecare services.

Wh at does ?en din g avoidable blin dn ess an d vision im pair ed? m ean t o Fat im a?

As I mentioned before, this cause is very near to me because those who suffered from vision loss were the closest people to my heart. As an ambassador, I will help to shed light on vision loss and enable people to understand the importance of ending avoidable blindness. I will always strive relentlessly to educate the world about the impact of restoring someone sight.

This cause is ver y near t o me because t hose who suf fer ed f r om vision loss wer e t he closest people t o my hear t . As an ambassador, I w ill help t o shed light on vision loss and enable people t o under st and t he impor t ance of ending avoidable blindness.

In addition, it is a very honorable humanitarian work, and I will put all my knowledge and what I know to serve this mission through my personal experience with my parents' illness, and my professional experience as well as through my media coverage of eye health projects.

Bein g a m edia per son alit y an d in f lu en cer , h ow can you play an in f lu en cin g r ole t o con t r ibu t e t o Th e Fou n dat ion?s vision : cr eat e a w or ld in w h ich n o per son is n eedlessly blin d or vision im pair ed?

Since I joined the Fred Hollows Foundation last December, I have already started to present everything that highlights the great work of this leading international development organization and one of Australia?s most respected and trusted charities. I have been telling and sharing the story of The Foundation, inequity in eye health, leading causes of blindness, challenges, solutions, and its impact around the world. I utilized my social media platform and conducted interviews with local media outlets.

Furthermore, I have been actively participating at The Foundation?s public events, the latest of which was a panel discussion held at

Expo 2020 Dubai, titled ?Media and Development in the Arab World? where we organized around table with The Foundation and journalists from the Emirates Journalists Association and Pan-Arab media to discuss and debate: ·The

relationship between the media and international development sector: reality, challenges, and opportunities. ·Creating

and shaping development and humanitarian news: Are international organizations a news maker or a source of news? ·Building

the capacities of Arab youth in the field of international developmentmedia.

The panel concluded with important recommendations and solutions to serve the future of international charities, including The Foundation, and how iNGOs should build a comprehensive and sustainable partnership with the national and Arab media in order to address development issues effectively.

Th e Fou n dat ion is celebr at in g 30 year s of im pact f u l ch an gem ak in g t h is year , an y last w or ds also f ocu sin g t h at ?

I would like to say happy 30th anniversary to our wonderful organization and wish for its continuous success in helping people to see again. I hope together with other ambassadors we will be visiting eye projects soon and share stories and voices from the field to show the impact of restoring someone sight.

Photography by: Ali Obaido

Designing Designing Eye-Car Eye-Car ee Pr Pr ogr ogr ams amsThr Thr ough ough Development Development Fr Fr amewor amewor kk

When COVID19 hit count r ies acr oss t he wor ld, t he gr eat est impact felt was on healt hcar e pr ogr ams due t o r esour ce diver sions t o count er t he ef fect s of t he pandemic. Healt hcar e wor ker s wer e r eassigned t o cope w it h ailing nat ions or non-ur gent healt hcar e ser vices suspended eit her because of r epr ior it izat ion or simply due t o insuf f icient per sonal pr ot ect ive equipment . Eye car e ser vices and pr ogr ams faced similar sit uat ion. Two year s dow n t he line, while t he pandemic is far f r om being over, it s r age has r elat ively abat ed. Wor k on t he gr ound have alr eady begun. The biggest quest ions ar e how do emer gencies impact pr ogr ams and what is t he way for war d?

Clust er Lead Global Pr ogr am, (Kenya, Rwanda, Bur undi, Tanzania and Uganda), The Fr ed Hollows Foundat ion, Jane Ohuma in conver sat ion w it h Sabin Muzaf far about t he impor t ance of designing and implement ing pr ogr ams w it h a people-cent r ic, development appr oach in a wor ld embr oiled in emer gencies ? man-made and ot her w ise.

I w an t ed t o st ar t w i t h an ov er al l p i ct u r e as f ar as h eal t h car e an d by ex t en si on ey e car e i s con cer n ed .

Al l con ver sation s begin with th e pan dem ic. For tu n atel y,th e wor l d is n ow seein g a decr ease in COVID in fection r ates.Th an k fu l l y, we h ave al so seen a decr ease in m an y Afr ican cou n tr ies in cl u din g Ken ya. Th er e is m u ch th at h as been l ost: peopl e, fr ien ds, l ivel ih oods. Cou n tr ies ar e str u ggl in g to r ecover. Th en th er e is al so th e Uk r ain e war wh ich h as al so affected m an y h eal th car e pr ogr am s in cl u din g ou r s.So we've h ad to l ook in to th e im pact on ou r pr ogr am s fr om th e poin t of view of h ow com m u n ities ar e accessin g ser vices. W e h ave h ad to l ook at it h ol istical l y to r e-str ategize ou r pr ogr am m in g.

W e h ave gon e deeper to see an d u n der stan d patien ts as wel l as com m u n ities?exper ien ces to deter m in e h ow ou r pr ogr am s can r each th e m ost vu l n er abl e, wh en peopl e ar e u n abl e to r each ou r ser vices du e to var iou s r eason s.

Th e Fou n dation is com m itted to en su r in g its pr ogr am s con sider th e n eeds of th e poor est an d m ost m ar gin al ized, in cl u din g addr essin g th ose com pl exities r el atin g to issu es of in equ ity in access to eye h eal th ser vices so th at we can appr opr iatel y design ou r pr ogr am s to r espon d to th ose n eeds.

You h av e t ou ch ed u p on a v er y i m p or t an t p oi n t . I n d eed w h en cr i ses l i k e t h e COVI D p an d em i c, Ebol a or ev en m an -m ad e con f l i ct s occu r ; h eal t h car e ser v i ces t h at seem n on -u r gen t ar e of cou r se d e-p r i or i t i zed . On ce t h e escal at i on su bsi d es, t h e i m p act i s t h en f el t on su ch p r ogr am s.

So t ak i n g t h i s i n t o accou n t , h ow d oes t h e Fou n d at i on w or k ?

If you l ook at Ken ya an d th e r egion or specifical l y speak in g Rwan da, Bu r u n di, Ugan da, an d Tan zan ia, becau se th is is th e

cl u ster I wor k in . Th e im pact of h eal th ch al l en ges su ch as Ebol a or COVID is m assive on peopl e an d n ot ju st peopl e; bu t al so th e l eader sh ip even befor e it r each es th e com m u n ities. So th e focu s ch an ges; wh ich essen tial l y m ean s al l decision s an d pl an n in g ar e gear ed towar ds addr essin g th ose em er gin g ch al l en ges. if I step back a bit, l ook in g ju st at Ken ya specifical l y an d th e r egion , th er e ar e oth er em er gin g issu es in h eal th car e. Issu es l ik e al coh ol ism an d depr ession n ow fal l in to th e ar ea of n on -com m u n icabl e diseases.

Ebol a was r epor ted in Niger ia. In Ken ya, h eal th ch al l en ges ar e com pou n ded by th e fact th at we h ave ju st h ad th e gen er al el ection s. So we n ow h ave a n ewl y for m ed gover n m en t an d th e l eader sh ip is ch an ged. W h at we h ave to see is wh at th e focu s of th e n ew r egim e is. Th is is wh y we ar e con tin u ou sl y advocatin g an d l obbyin g eye h eal th to be am on gst h eal th pr ior ities.

W ith issu es l ik e th e Ebol a ou tbr eak etc, we al so h ave to tak e in to accou n t th at peopl e assu m e

cl osu r e of cl in ics an d n on -avail abil ity of h eal th car e wor k er s an d th ey ten d to stay at h om e.

In Ken ya, we in tr odu ced a n ew appr oach . Nor m al l y in th e cou n tr y,we u sed to do ou tr each es. Bu t we h ave in tr odu ced th e in -r each appr oach an d wor k ver y cl osel y with h eal th car e wor k er s. Th ey ar e tr ain ed to do th e scr een in gs an d pu t al l th e in for m ation down .

On ce we h ave a pool of 20 to 30 peopl e wh o n eed fu r th er diagn osis. Th en th e team wil l com e to a cen tr al pl ace n ear by an d th is is h ow we ar e in n ovatin g to r each m or e an d m or e peopl e.

An d w h at h ap p en s w h en t h e gov er n m en t or l ead er sh i p ch an ges?

Th at is a r eal ch al l en ge. In Ken ya, on ce th e l eader sh ip ch an ges, we h ave to addr ess at n ation al as wel l as cou n ty l evel s. W h en n ew l eader sh ip steps in , th ey br in g in n ew peopl e wh o m igh t h ave differ en t aspir ation s. It can r edu ce th e gain s an d positive. devel opm en t m ade du r in g th e

ou tgoin g r egim e. Th at said, th e good th in g is pol icies do n ot ch an ge. Bu t advocacy again is r eal l y im por tan t an d wor k in g with th e gover n m en t. M or eover , we ar e advocatin g to h ave a n ation al str ategic eye h eal th pl an n ot ju st at th e n ation al l evel ; bu t al so th e distr ict, cou n ty or pr ovin cial l evel s.W e ar e con tin u ou sl y advocatin g an d pr ovidin g tech n ical su ppor t to devel op eye h eal th at th e cou n ty l evel an d in tegr atin g it in to th e n ation al str ategic h eal th pl an wh ich of cou r se r em ain s in tact even if th e r egim e ch an ges. An y gover n m en t th at com es in , we al r eady h ave a fr am ewor k in pl ace an d on l y h ave to begin th e pr ocess of or ien tin g th em based on th ese docu m en ts th at can n ot be ch an ged.

Th is al so cr eates a sen se of own er sh ip.

Al so, it is r eal l y im por tan t for u s to m ak e su r e th at ou r pr ogr am s ar e su stain abl e. If we ar e en ter in g a n ew cou n tr y,we m ak e su r e th at wor k is don e in par tn er sh ip. For exam pl e, we ask th e l ocal l eader sh ip to r efu r bish an eye h eal th cen tr e an d we (th e Fou n dation ) th en pu ts in th e equ ipm en t. So it?s a 50-50 sh ar e.

Th er e ar e m an y ch al l en ges th at pr even t wom en an d gir l s fr om accessin g eye car e. In Rwan da, for exam pl e, we ar e in th e m iddl e of con du ctin g a gen der equ ity an d in cl u sion an al ysis. An d on e of th e pr el im in ar y r esu l t was th at 55 per cen t of wom en , as opposed to 45 per cen t of m en , ar e accessin g

W e wor k with a l ot of oth er h eal th or gan ization an d I m u st em ph asize h er e th at eye h eal th is a devel opm en t issu e an d we can n ot wor k in sil os. I say th is becau se eye h eal th affects peopl e?s l ives, l ivel ih ood so in tegr atin g eye h eal th in to th e br oader devel opm en t agen da, in to th e SDGs is pivotal . Th is in tegr ation is ver y,ver y im por tan t.

W h at ar e som e of t h e ch al l en ges i n ey e h eal t h as f ar as gen d er equ al i t y an d f em al e access t o ey e h eal t h i s con cer n ed ?

At th e Fou n dation , we do con du ct gen der equ ity an d in cl u sion an al ysis, focu sin g eye car e.

ser vices. Th is al so h el ps u s design ou r pr ogr am an d al so ask wh y access l evel is com par ativel y l ow as far as m en ar e con cer n ed becau se we can n ot l eave m en beh in d eith er.

Th er e ar e so m an y factor s affectin g wom en 's access. If you l ook at tr an spor t, it's al ways a cost an d wh en we tal k of cost, it is cost of tr an spor t, cost of ser vices, peopl e h ave to go, th ey h ave to be accom m odated, th ey h ave to eat.

So it is al so im por tan t to l ook at cost in gen er al . Th is is wh y at th e Fou n dation , we ar e tak in g th e ou tr each as wel l as in -r each appr oach so th at ser vices ar e cl oser to th e peopl e, to br idge th at gap.

W h at i s y ou r v i si on . W h at n eed s t o be d on e?

I th in k ever yon e is in fu l l agr eem en t th at m or e in vestm en t is n eeded. W e n eed to h ave str ategies in pl ace an d advocatin g as wel l as l obby for m or e in vestm en t in eye car e to m ak e su r e ser vices ar e n ot ju st affor dabl e bu t al so accessibl e an d acceptabl e to th e en tir e popu l ation an d m or e so for wom en an d gir l s. W ith

in vestm en t com es own er sh ip an d th at is h ow we can al so ach ieve su stain abl e devel opm en t. It is al so im por tan t to m ak e su r e th at pr oper ser vices ar e avail abl e. If a h ospital does n ot h ave n u r ses or dr u gs to adm in ister th en peopl e ten d to stay at h om e. It is in cu m ben t on th e au th or ities to m ak e su r e th at th ese an d oth er ser vices ar e avail abl e an d r u n n in g sm ooth l y. W e al so h ave to r aise awar en ess abou t l ever agin g pu bl ic h eal th in su r an ce, wh eth er in Ken ya, Rwan da or an y oth er cou n tr y.

Th er e is a pu bl ic h eal th in su r an ce wh ich peopl e m u st r egister to so th at th ey ar e abl e to get affor dabl e ser vices. Th ese ar e som e of th e system ic issu es th at r eal l y n eed to be l ook ed in to.

Th e W or l d H eal th Or gan ization h as a fr am ewor k on in tegr ated peopl e-cen tr ed eye car e. It is a gr eat tool th at, if adopted, l ook s at al l system s an d al so at design in g ser vices cl oser to th e com m u n ity.

If th e IPEC Fr am ewor k is adopted, we can r eal ize th e desir ed goal of el im in atin g avoidabl e bl in dn ess col l ectivel y with in th e devel opm en t sector.

Embedding Development & Eye Car e in Regions of Emer gencies Far ooq Awan, Clust er Lea d Pa ki st a n, Afgha ni st a n, Jor da n, Pa lest i ne, i n conver sa t i on wi t h Sa bi n M uza ffa r a bout eye ca r e ser vi ces a nd developm ent i n a r ea s of confli ct a nd st r i fe.

Tel l u s abou t t h e w or k Th e Fr ed H ol l ow s Fou n d at i on d oes i n Af gh an i st an an d Pak i st an , an d h ow y ou began w or k i n g i n t h e d ev el op m en t sect or .

wor k in g with th e gover n m en t, I l ear n t so m u ch abou t th e fiel d of devel opm en t, on e is goin g to com m u n ities an d h el pin g so m an y peopl e.

W e star ted th e pr ogr am in Afgh an isation fr om th e Pak istan office back in 2006. I u sed to wr ite r epor ts for th e cou n tr y.

In itial l y I didn ?t r eal l y u n der stan d abou t th e l ocation s, wh er e Jal al abad, Kabu l or Asadabd etc. wer e l ocated. Th en I decided to visit th e pl ace an d th at r eal l y ch an ged m y per ception especial l y becau se wh en you see wor k on th e gr ou n d, it sim pl y gives you an oth er dim en sion of u n der stan din g an d for su r e th e im pact am pl ifies.

I saw a gr eat oppor tu n ity to wor k for th e Fou n dation in 2007 an d n ow it h as been m or e th an 15 gr eat year s of bein g a par t of th is am azin g fam il y. Th e fact th at I h ave been wor k in g in th is fiel d, with th is or gan ization for su ch a l on g tim e, is a cl ear in dication abou t th e im pact an d m y passion for th is l in e of devel opm en t.

Com in g fr om a r em ote ar ea in Pak istan with m an y ch al l en ges m ade m e r eal ize th at I wan ted to wor k at th e gr assr oots, for th e peopl e, especial l y th e vu l n er abl e.

Vil l age l ife teach es u s to h el p oth er s an d th is is par t of wh o I am . Th r ou gh m y gover n m en t job, I cam e acr oss m an y or gan ization s in cl u din g Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation . W h il e

Th i s cl u st er i s al so v er y sen si t i v e i n t h e sen se of em er gen ci es an d con f l i ct s.

Tr u e.W h en I join ed Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation back in 2007 an d if you l ook at th ose year s; th is r egion was essen tial l y an active war zon e. Th e Fou n dation h ad been wor k in g in Afgh an istan sin ce 2006 fr om th e Pak istan base. W e began ou r wor k by iden tifyin g a par tn er in Afgh an istan wh o we ar e stil l wor k in g with . It is a Neth er l an ds based or gan ization cal l ed H eal th Net. Th ey h ad pen etr ation on th e gr ou n d. Afgh an isation ?s

h eal th car e sector is actu al l y ou tsou r ced. So al l h eal th ser vices ar e pr ovided by in ter n ation al or gan ization s on beh al f of th e gover n m en t.

H eal th Net basical l y cover s th e en tir e easter n side of Afgh an isation wh ich is wh y we h ave par tn er ed with th em an d h ave in cl u ded eye h eal th in gen er al h eal th ser vices.

Com in g back to you r qu estion , yes I agr ee it was a ver y ch al l en gin g situ ation in ever y way. W e con du cted a m assive capacity bu il din g in itiative to tr ain th e l ocal peopl e so th at we can r el y on th em to del iver eye car e ser vices with ou t ou r pr esen ce on th e gr ou n d. W e tr ain ed th eir doctor s an d h eal th car e wor k er s. W e br ou gh t an d tr ain ed th eir optom etr ists in Pak istan an d sen t th em back equ ipped with l ear n in gs an d sk il l s. Th is par tn er sh ip with H eal th Net wor k ed an d stil l wor k s ver y wel l by in tegr atin g eye car e in th e existin g h eal th car e fr am ewor k .

H ow d o y ou m an age or st r at egi ze t o p r ov i d e ser v i ces i n cou n t r i es w h er e soci al st r u ct u r es p r ev en t t h e m ost v u l n er abl e f r om accessi n g h eal t h car e an d by ex t en si on ey e car e ser v i ces?

It l iter al l y br in gs tear s to on e?s eyes th at wh en you l ook at cou n tr ies r avaged eith er by war or oth er for m s of em er gen cies, wom en ar e th e m ost vu l n er abl e wh en it com es to pover ty an d access to h eal th car e ser vices. A

wom an ?s m obil ity is n ot ju st im pacted cu l tu r al l y,th is im pact is am pl ified du e to war an d str ife.

In addition to th is, fam il ies in su ch con fl ict ar eas al so h ave l ow in com e. In su ch fam il ies, m en ar e cu l tu r al l y pr ior itized with wom en ?s an d ch il dr en ?s h eal th goin g on th e back bu r n er.

In itial l y,h eal th car e ser vices wer e ch ar ged becau se th ey wer e ou tsou r ced an d th e gover n m en t was u n abl e to pr oper l y com pen sate fin an cial l y. Th is fu r th er m ade tr eatm en t in accessibl e for wom en an d gir l s becau se of cu l tu r al an d societal n or m s. Th ey wer e n ot a pr ior ity.

Th is m ade it im possibl e for

wom en to get an y sign ifican t eye car e tr eatm en t.

So wh en we began wor k in g in Afgh an istan , we said th at we wil l pr ovide al l ser vices fr ee of cost an d th at al l pr ocedu r es con du cted sh ou l d al so be fr ee of cost. Of cou r se m obil ity was stil l an issu e bu t even th en th e positive im pact was gr eat for wom en wh o cou l d com e in for tr eatm en t.

W e al so began settin g u p tr eatm en t base in n ear by ar eas l ik e Jal al abad, Ku n n ar etc. so th at m or e an d m or e wom en cou l d

access ser vices an d tr eatm en t.

W e al so par tn er ed with th e gover n m en tby settin g u p cam ps in r em ote ar eas fr om wh er e peopl e wer e u n abl e to tr avel .

At th e m om en t, h owever ,th e cam ps h ave been cl osed down du e to th e ch an ge in gover n m en t. Bu t we ar e stil l wor k in g with H eal th Net over th er e.

As far as Pak istan is con cer n ed, th er e ar e obviou sl y m an y ch al l en ges. Lack of awar en ess is on e of th e biggest issu es. Peopl e

stil l don ?t k n ow if vision im pair m en t or l oss is tr eatabl e or n ot. Accessibil ity is yet an oth er h u ge ch al l en ge du e to con str ain ts on a wom an ?s m obil ity. M or e th an often , wom en h ave to be accom pan ied by a m al e fam il y m em ber in or der to access eye tr eatm en t.

Cost of su r ger y an d fin an ce is an oth er bar r ier to tr eatm en t an d eye car e ser vices. So to cou n ter al l th ese issu es, wh at we h ave don e over a per iod of tim e is to l ever age th e gover n m en t?s fr am ewor k of h eal th ser vices

th r ou gh l ady h eal th wor k er s.

W h il e th eir pr im ar y pu r pose is m ater n al an d ch il d h eal th ; n ow th eir scope h as been br oaden ed.

Th e gover n m en t assign s th em to var iou s task s at th e gr assr oots, su ch as for pol io cam paign s etc.

So we al so m ak e u se of th is l ar ge n etwor k of l ady h eal th wor k er s for eye car e. Th e gover n m en t h as al so in tegr ated eye car e in th eir cou r se cu r r icu l u m u pon ou r r equ est an d a l ot of advocacy fr om ou r en d. So wh en ever an y n ew l ady h eal th wor k er is in du cted, h er cou r se in cl u des

eye car e as wel l . W e al so en gage th em th r ou gh ou r own pr ojects an d pr ogr am s, al so pr ovidin g th em with tr ain in g an d capacity bu il din g.

W e h ave al so m ade su r e to br in g ser vices cl oser to ar eas wh er e accessibil ity is a m ajor bar r ier.

W e wor k on distr ict as wel l as su b-distr ict l evel .

W e focu s on ch il dr en ?s eye h eal th by goin g to sch ool s an d tr ain teach er s to con du ct fir st l evel of scr een in g an d th en at th e n ext l evel , ou r optom etr ist

con du cts th e secon d scr een in g.W e al so cou n sel teach er s on h ow to m ak e su r e ch il dr en wear th eir spectacl es.

W e al so sh ar e th r ee sam pl es fr om wh ich a ch il d can ch oose fr om . Th is r aises th e l evel of acceptabil ity in ch il dr en as far as wear in g gl asses is con cer n ed.

Th is way we ar e dir ectl y im pactin g SDG 3, 4, an d 5 (h eal th , qu al ity edu cation an d gen der equ al ity r espectivel y).

In addition to th is, Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation h as assisted to th e Gover n m en t of Pak istan to devel op a five year pl an for eye car e based on th e r ecom m en dation s of W or l d H eal th Or gan ization Repor t (2019) th at tal k s abou t Vision .

Th is pl an IPEC ? In tegr ated Peopl e-cen ter ed Eye Car e ? is n ow for m u l ated an d we ar e con tin u ou sl y con tr ibu tin g to th at pl an .

H ow d oes n at u r al em er gen ci es l i k e t h e r ecen t f l ood s i n Pak i st an i m p act p r ogr am s?

W e h ave an in h er ited ch al l en ge, wh ich is wh en ever an em er gen cy occu r s ? eye car e is de-pr ior itized. Th is h appen ed du r in g th e pan dem ic an d as a r esu l t th e back l og in cr eased m assivel y. Th e r esou r ces wer e of cou r se r edir ected to cope with th e em er gen cy. Peopl e?s m obil ity was again im pacted. Sim il ar is th e case with th e r ecen t fl oods.

Obviou sl y,th e biggest ch al l en ge is to r espon d to th e em er gen cy to save h u m an l ife; with th e m ost vu l n er abl e bein g im pacted th e m ost.

Bu t al so becau se of th e fl oods, th er e is a h u ge n u m ber of eye in fection s on th e r ise. Sin dh is h u gel y exper ien cin g th is an d cl in ics an d h eal th car e ou tl ets ar e gr avel y im pacted by fl oods. W e ar e wor k in g to see h ow we can su ppor t to h eal th ser vices on th e gr ou n d. Bu t of cou r se th e gain s

we m ade over th e past m an y year s, h ave been l ost du e to th e em er gen cy an d we ar e n ow wor k in g towar ds ach ievin g th em .

An y l ast w or d s?

Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation is a beacon of h ope for eye h eal th an d th e devel opm en t sector. Ou r str ategy h as al ways focu sed on pr ovidin g access to ser vices, equ ipm en t an d cr eatin g pr ogr am s or gan ical l y to m ak e su r e th ey ar e su stain abl e. It?s been 30 year s th at we h ave been car r yin g th e l igh t an d vision of Pr ofessor H ol l ows an d h ave im pacted l ives of m il l ion s, givin g th em h ope an d con fiden ce to l ead a better l ife. So th is is a h u ge pr ivil ege for n ot ju st m e bu t for al l of u s.

We counsel t ea cher s on how t o m a ke sur e chi ldr en wea r t hei r spect a cles. a nd sha r e t hr ee sa m ples fr om whi ch a chi ld ca n choose fr om . Thi s r a i ses t he level of a ccept a bi li t y i n chi ldr en a s fa r a s wea r i ng gla sses i s concer ned. Thi s wa y we a r e di r ect ly i m pa ct i ng SDG 3, 4, a nd 5 (hea lt h, qua li t y educa t i on a nd gender equa li t y r espect i vely).

Envisaging humanit ar ianism in locat ions of st r ife I n conver sation with Dim a N usseibeh, Pr oject Officer , St John Eye H ospital, Palestine.

Tel l u s abou t y ou r sel f an d y ou r w or k f ocu si n g d ev el op m en t , h eal t h an d ey e car e.

I h ol d a m aster 's in bu sin ess adm in istr ation an d a dipl om a in pr oject m an agem en t. I wor k ed for ten year s in Al -Qu ds Un iver sity in stu den t affair s an d was h an dl in g 11,000 stu den ts.

After th at I wor k ed for five year s in pl an n in g an d devel opm en t, th en I star ted wor k in g in th e eye h ospital , fir st in fu n d r aisin g th en I becam e in ch ar ge of pr ojects.

I join ed th e h ospital in M ar ch 2020 wh en Covid-19 h ad star ted to spr ead. I star ted in fu n dr aisin g an d th en becam e r espon sibl e for two pr ojects of th e h ospital in Gaza an d th e W est Ban k .

I m ostl y wor k in th e office, bu t al so con du ct fiel d visits wh en I n eed to assess eye h eal th pr ojects. H owever ,th at is difficu l t in Gaza du e to th e situ ation , wh ich h asn ?t al l owed m e to visit th e pr oject yet. In th e W est Ban k on th e oth er h an d, I can visit th e pr oject to m eet with or gan ization s an d th e sch ool s with wh ich we wor k . Th er efor e, I can descr ibe m y wor k as both in an office job an d in th e fiel d.

I'm a m oth er of a 13 year s ol d boy.

I spen d m y tim e h el pin g h im in h is edu cation an d extr acu r r icu l ar activities.

In fact, I?m n ot special ised in eye car e bu t in pr oject m an agem en t.

I l ik e to vol u n teer ,an d th at?s wh y I did vol u n teer on differ en t pr ojects th at h appen ed to be per son al in itiatives. For in stan ce, I u sed to h el p or ph an s an d ol der peopl e. W h en I star ted m y r ecen t job, I fel t th at m y vol u n teer wor k , wh ich I u sed to u n der tak e ir r egu l ar l y an d in for m al l y,h as becom e for m al sin ce I star ted wor k in g with St. Joh n H ospital an d h an dl in g bigger fu n ds. Th an k s to th e ou tr each team , we wer e abl e to access ar eas th at I was u n abl e to

access in th e past, in cl u din g displ aced vil l ages, wh er e l ife differ s sign ifican tl y th an th at in th e city.

Th i s sp i r i t of h u m an i t ar i an i sm i s al so a cor e v i si on of t h e Fr ed H ol l ow s Fou n d at i on . Tel l u s abou t t h e p r oject s y ou ar e w or k i n g on .

I star ted m an agin g two pr ojects in th e W est Ban k an d Gaza, in Jan u ar y an d Febr u ar y. Th er e, I began to deal with peopl e fr om Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation . I m et Gh an a Bol a fr om th e Gl obal Pr ogr am s, an d th r ou gh ou r con ver sation s I got to l ear n m or e an d m or e abou t th e or gan isation .

W h at ar e som e of t h e bar r i er s as f ar as access t o ey e h eal t h i n Pal est i n e i s con cer n ed ?

Many Palest inians live below t he pover t y line, which means many people can?t af for d healt hcar e ser vices including eyecar e.

When I visit t hese ar eas, I not ice t hat people don?t have t he basic necessit ies of life, which ar e always available for us, such as elect r icit y and wat er.

It is har d t o believe t hese life condit ions ar e exist ing in 20 22.

M an y Pal estin ian s l ive bel ow th e pover ty l in e, wh ich m ean s m an y peopl e can ?t affor d h eal th car e ser vices in cl u din g eyecar e.

W h en I visit th ese ar eas, I n otice th at peopl e don ?t h ave th e basic n ecessities of l ife, wh ich ar e al ways avail abl e for u s, su ch as el ectr icity an d water. It is h ar d to bel ieve th ese l ife con dition s ar e existin g in 2022. Som e peopl e can ?t access tr eatm en ts of pr even tabl e diseases becau se th er e is n o cl in ic th at offer s su ch ser vices. For exam pl e, we see diabetic patien ts with a ver y h igh bl ood su gar r ate, bu t h ave n ever h ad th eir eyes ch eck ed.Pover ty an d r estr icted m obil ity,in addition to th e econ om ic situ ation , pr even t th ese peopl e fr om accessin g th ese sim pl e ser vices. Al l of th ese obstacl es r epr esen t ch al l en ges for m e becau se I can ?t im agin e th at th er e ar e peopl e wh o can ?t access su ch ser vices.

Addition al l y,th e siege in Gaza den ies en tr y of m edical equ ipm en t n ecessar y to per for m sim pl e oper ation s. Th ese ar e th e obstacl es we see on th e gr ou n d.

Reach in g th e l ar gest pr opor tion of m ar gin al ised peopl e wh eth er in th e W est Ban k or In Gaza, as wel l as in Jer u sal em .

Addition al l y,th er e wer e Covid-19 ou tbr eak s in sever al h eal th cen tr es, in cl u din g th e eye h ospital in th e W est Ban k , wh ich was su bsequ en tl y cl osed an d al l patien ts wer e tr an sfer r ed to ou r h ospital for tr eatm en t. W e saved m an y peopl e wh o wou l d?ve oth er wise l ost th eir eyesigh t.

Fu r th er m or e, we con cen tr ate at th e m om en t on or ph an ages. W e per for m r egu l ar ch eck -u ps on th e ch il dr en as par t of ou r r egu l ar ch eck -u p pr ogr am m e th at we or gan ise ever y six m on th s. W e tr y to r each as m an y m ar gin al ised peopl e as possibl e.

I n si t u at i on s of cr i ses as w el l as af f or d abi l i t y , h ow d o

or gan i zat i on s an d h osp i t al s m an age?

Rel yin g on ou r don or s, we tr y as we m igh t to pr ovide th e n ecessar y fu n ds so th e patien ts don ?t h ave to bear an y expen ses in l igh t of th eir cu r r en t econ om ic situ ation . W e aim th at patien ts pay as l ittl e as possibl e or even n oth in g. W e don ?t wan t peopl e to l ose th eir sigh t becau se th ey can ?t affor d tr eatm en t.

As I said, th e m ajor eye h ospital in Ram al l ah was cl osed an d tu r n ed in to a Covid-19 qu ar an tin e an d tr eatm en t cen tr e. Su bsequ en tl y,m an y patien ts wh o wer e bein g tr eated th er e wer e n o l on ger abl e to r eceive th e n ecessar y h eal th car e. Th er efor e, th e fact th at St. Joh n H ospital was th er e an d abl e to r em ain open du r in g th ese cir cu m stan ces, h el ped m an y peopl e to save th eir eyesigh t an d wer e n ot affected by th e l ock down .

Du r in g th e fir st per iod of th e l ock down , th e situ ation was extr em el y difficu l t du e to r estr iction s on m ovem en t an d oth er l ock down m easu r es su ch as r oadbl ock s. Th er efor e, m an y peopl e wer e facin g difficu l ties to access tr eatm en t.

W e wer e wor k in g in sh its, i.e. th e wh ol e team was n ever wor k in g al l togeth er at th e sam e tim e. W e al so obser ved safety m easu r es su ch as k eepin g a ph ysical distan ce, wear in g m ask s an d disin fectin g, in or der to r edu ce con tact.

Th e situ ation im pr oved an d we don ?t h ear h er e abou t cor on a, as if th e wave h as van ish ed. Th an k s God. W h at w ou l d y ou l i k e t o say abou t t h e Fou n d at i on , w h i ch i s cel ebr at i n g 30 y ear s of w or k on t h e gr ou n d ?

I wou l d l ik e to th an k Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation an d its

peopl e for th eir su ppor t of m ar gin al ised ar eas su ch as Pak istan an d Pal estin e. Th ey su ppor t peopl e wh o ar e u n abl e to car e for th eir h eal th du e to pover ty. Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation h el p th ese gr ou ps of peopl e save th eir vision , wh ich is ver y im por tan t for u s as h u m an s.

Th e bl in d becom e a bu r den for th eir fam il ies an d ch il dr en . Th eir m en tal h eal th deter ior ates, affectin g th eir econ om ic situ ation as wel l . Th e fou n dation al so h el ps peopl e to be in depen den t fin an cial l y,so th ey can pr ovide for th eir fam il ies.

I bel ieve th at vision an d eye car e is n ot pr ior itised en ou gh in ter m s of awar en ess an d cover in g th e costs of tr eatm en t. W e can r aise awar en ess am on g ch il dr en th r ou gh ou tr each pr ojects, so we can fol l ow u p on th em at an ear l y age an d m ak e su r e th ey don ?t face pr obl em s as th ey gr ow u p. I bel ieve th at we can or gan ise pr ojects th at in spect th eir vision , in or der to avoid an y pr obl em s in th e fu tu r e. Un for tu n atel y,we ar e a cou n tr y th at r el ies on exter n al su ppor t an d with ou t it m an y pr ojects wil l sh u t down .

I can see m ysel f tak in g ch ar ge of m or e pr ojects th at can be im pl em en t if we h ad th e fu n ds.

W e do ou r best to pr ovide com pr eh en sive ser vices to al l of th ose wh o n eed it. M y dr eam is to pr ovide as m an y ser vices as possibl e for ch il dr en . I wou l d l ik e to see ch il dr en r eceivin g th e h eal th car e th ey n eed with ou t an y fin an cial , social or even geogr aph ical obstacl es. I wou l d l ove to see th is h appen in g in th e com in g year s.

Upsk illing Talent For Bet t er Healt h, Eye Car e Ser vices

I n conver sation with Dr Am jaad Abu Sham s, Ophthalm ologist, St John Eye H ospital, Palestine.

Tel l u s abou t y ou r sel f an d y ou r jou r n ey as a d oct or ?

W h at w as t h e asp i r at i on beh i n d ch oosi n g t o be a m ed i cal p r act i t i on er ?

I was al ways th e top of m y cl ass th r ou gh ou t sch ool ?s year s. I gr adu ated sch ool an d cam e in fir st acr oss th e wh ol e of Pal estin e, an d I was th e secon d best gr adu ate of th e m edicin e col l ege at u n iver sity. I m ade al l th is effor t an d h ar d wor k in or der to ach ieve m y dr eam , wh ich is to wor k as a doctor at St. Joh n Eye H ospital . Th an k s God I r eal ised it. I soon becom e an oph th al m ol ogist, wh ich was m y am bition al l al on g. Th is was m ade possibl e th an k s to th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation th at su ppor ted m e an d gave th e oppor tu n ity to wor k in th is pl ace.

In m y fifth year at m edicin e sch ool , we h ad to tak e an En gl ish l an gu age cou r se. Th e pr ofessor sh owed u s a video abou t bl in dn ess in Afr ica an d I was sh ock ed to h ear abou t th e ter m avoidable blindness. I al ways th ou gh t th at a bl in d per son is sim pl y bl in d. I was ver y su r pr ised wh en I l ear n ed th at th e cau ses for bl in dn ess ar e so sim pl e, an d th at al l you n eed is a sim pl e oper ation , su ch as a catar act oper ation , an d a per son wil l h ave a n ew l ife in stead of l osin g on e?s vision . W h en we, as doctor s, oper ate on catar act patien ts, we give th em n ew l ives, so th ey can car e for th eir fam il ies an d com m u n icate with th em . I was sh ock ed to h ear th at an d fel t becom in g an eye su r geon is a tr em en dou s oppor tu n ity so th at on e day I can focu s on th e m ain cau se of bl in dn ess ar ou n d th e wor l d.

Th at was m y dr eam . H en ce, I wor k ed h ar d to pu r su e th is special isation , wh ich on l y ver y few can tak e ever y year.

Oth er th an m edicin e, I'm th e on l y dau gh ter in m y fam il y,so I'm som ewh at an em otion al per son . I was r aised by peopl e wh o l oved h el pin g oth er s, wh ich al so m ade m e fon d of oph th al m ol ogy. I con sider th e gift of vision to be th e gr eatest. I al so l ik e h an dicr afts a l ot, especial l y em br oider y. W h en I oper ate on patien ts I r em em ber h ow h ar d it was for m e to l ear n em br oider y. Bu t with pr actice, you get u sed to it an d it becom es easier.

I was bor n in Tu l k ar m , Pal estin e, wh er e I l ived u n til I was accepted at th e eye h ospital , so I m oved ou t to pu r su e m y special isation as an oph th al m ol ogist.

W e k n ow t h e ch al l en ges p eop l e f ace i n Pal est i n e, t el l u s h ow y ou w or k an d go abou t esp eci al l y bei n g t h e on l y d au gh t er i n y ou r f am i l y ?

I l ive in Ram al l ah , n ear Jer u sal em , becau se r esidin g in th e l atter is ver y difficu l t. H en ce, I l ive in th e cl osest city in th e W est Ban k . I h ave to cr oss ch eck poin ts ever y day in or der to get to wor k .

It tak es m e two h ou r s back an d for th .

Sin ce I'm m y fam il y?s on l y dau gh ter ,th e decision to m ove ou t was ver y tou gh for th em . Bu t becau se th ey k n ow h ow h ar d I wor k ed to r eal ise wh at I wan t, th ey al ways su ppor ted m y decision s. I al ways wan ted to becom e an oph th al m ol ogist an d I wasn ?t goin g to give u p u n til I was in . W h en I got accepted, I was ver y h appy. Th is was gr eat n ews n ot on l y for m e bu t al so for m y fam il y. I can ?t for get th at day, with al l its detail s. As I said, I was th e cou n tr y?s top gr adu ate in h igh sch ool . Bu t m y h appin ess wh en I was accepted for oph th al m ol ogy was bigger th an

th at wh en I cam e in fir st in sch ool . M y fam il y k n ew h ow im por tan t th is was for m e an d th ey wer e su ppor tive. Th is was n o dou bt difficu l t sin ce I on l y visit th em twice a m on th . Today I'm goin g to visit th em . For m e th is is a jou r n ey th at star ted year s ago an d h as a h u m an goal .

Each per son h as to go th r ou gh th eir own l ife jou r n ey.

Tel l u s abou t y ou r w or k an d y ou r r esi d en cy.

I?m in th e th ir d year of m y r esiden cy pr ogr am m e, wh ich attr acts m edicin e gr adu ates wh o wan t to becom e oph th al m ol ogists. W e begin with gen er al k n owl edge abou t eye diseases, th en we star t ou r su r ger y tr ain in g in th e secon d year. Today,I was in on e of th e su r ger y th eatr es an d oper ated on two catar act patien ts. I'm ver y gr atefu l for th is oppor tu n ity. Addition al l y,th e h ospital h as an ou tr each team th at visits m ar gin al ised vil l ages on a dail y basis to pr ovide pr im ar y h eal th car e ser vices.

W e exam in e patien ts an d tr an sfer som e of th em to h ospital s.

H ow d i d y ou en cou n t er t h e Fr ed H ol l ow s Fou n d at i on ?

Fir st wh en I join ed th e h ospital , I m et Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation ?s r epr esen tative, Gh an a Bol a, th r ou gh wh om I l ear n ed th at th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation is m y spon sor.

Th at?s h ow I join ed th e pr ogr am m e. M y tr ain in g in cl u des l ectu r es, su r gical oper ation s an d a th eor etical par t. Th is pr ogr am m e al l owed m e to special ise in oph th al m ol ogy at th e ol dest eye h ospital in Pal estin e. Th is oppor tu n ity spar ed m e th e tr ou bl e of tr avel in g abr oad in or der to pu r su e a sim il ar oppor tu n ity an d obtain th e sam e qu al ity of edu cation . Jer u sal em 's

eye h ospital offer s cu r r en tl y n u m er ou s su b-special isation s th at ar e n ot avail abl e el sewh er e in th e W est Ban k . For in stan ce, th er e ar e special ists in eye pr essu r e, paediatr ics eye car e, in tr aocu l ar In fection s, eye n er ves an d oth er discipl in es th at ar e on l y avail abl e in th e eye h ospital in Jer u sal em . Sin ce th is is su ch a tim e-h on ou r ed H ospital , I th in k it deser ves th e su ppor t th at al l ows Pal estin ian s an oppor tu n ity to stu dy in it.

I r eal l y feel gr atefu l for join in g th is pr ogr am m e th at r eceives su ch a gr eat su ppor t.

W h at ar e y ou p l an n i n g t o p u r su e, an y sp eci al i zat i on s t h at y ou ar e i n t er est ed i n ?

I wou l d l ik e to special ise in r etin al diseases becau se cu r r en t statistics in dicates th at catar act an d diabetic r etin opath y ar e th e l eadin g cau ses for vision l oss.

Th er efor e, I wan t to tar get avoidabl e bl in dn ess an d tr eat it in Pal estin e. M y special isation in r etin al diseases wil l al l ow m e to com m u n icate with diabetic patien ts an d be in ch ar ge of th eir tr eatm en t an d fol l ow u p. At th e sam e tim e, I wil l be abl e to oper ate on catar act patien ts. So if I h ad th e oppor tu n ity,I wou l d l ik e to pu r su e th is su b-special isation .

W h at n eed s t o be d on e t o i m p r ov e ey e car e ser v i ces?

Accor din g to m y k n owl edge an d based on statistics, catar act is th e l eadin g cau se of bl in dn ess an d 80% of th e cases can be tr eated an d avoided. W e h ave ar ou n d 130,000 peopl e with differ en t degr ees of vision im pair m en ts. Peopl e with disabil ities ar e th r ee tim es m or e l ik el y to h ave an eye con dition com par ed to oth er s. Th is was an im por tan t piece of in for m ation becau se th e ou tr each pr ogr am m e, wh er e I al so wor k ,

tar gets th is gr ou p of peopl e an d pr ovides th em with ser vices.

Th is gives m e th e oppor tu n ity to con tr ibu te in or der to r edu ce th ese odds. I was al so sh ock ed, yet en cou r aged to devel op m ysel f, wh en I l ear n ed th at th e vision of 50 per cen t of th e patien ts wh o wer e tr eated for catar act at ou r h ospital over th e year s was wel l im pr oved, wh il e th e vision of 25 per cen t deter ior ated in spite of th e

wor k h ar der in or der to pr ovide each patien t with a satisfyin g r esu l ts after th e oper ation .

oper ation . Th is m ean s th at we n eed to in vest m or e in su r gical tal en ts acr oss Pal estin e an d tr ain n ewcom er s an d th ose wh o ar e al r eady in fel l owsh ip pr ogr am m es, wh eth er at th e eye h ospital or by sen din g th em abr oad. Th is wil l affor d u s better su r gical tal en ts an d al l ows u s to r edu ce th e r ates of th is disease.

Th e 50 per cen t r ate of im pr ovem en t is n ot en ou gh wh en com par ed to th e 90 per cen t r ate acr oss oth er cou n tr ies, h en ce th e n eed to im pr ove. Th is en cou r ages m e to

avail abl e fu n ds ar e wh at defin es ou r capabil ities to oper ate on patien ts.

Th e m ajor ity of peopl e ar e u n abl e to affor d th is tr eatm en t an d th e gover n m en t su ppor t doesn ?t cover al l expen ses. Som e peopl e r eceive fr ee-of-ch ar ge tr eatm en ts paid by th e fu n ds th is h ospital r eceives. W e h ave a h ospital th at doesn ?t tu r n back an y patien t becau se of th eir fin an cial situ ation . So th e

W e see on dail y basis patien ts wh o ar e u n abl e to affor d sim pl e an d r ou tin e ch eck -u ps an d tests.

Th er efor e, we tr an sfer th em to th e social affair s depar tm en t wh er e th ey can r eceive th e n ecessar y su ppor t if th e fu n ds wer e avail abl e. Th er efor e, fu n ds ar e essen tial for ou r ser vices to con tin u e an d r each th e wh ol e com m u n ity.

W h at ar e som e of t h e m ost

cr i t i cal ch al l en ges as f ar as v i si on i m p ai r m en t i s con cer n ed ?

Vision pr obl em s th at r equ ir e cor r ective gl asses ar e th e m ost dom in an t pr obl em s, especial l y am on g ch il dr en , wh il e diabetic r etin opath y an d catar act ar e th e m ain pr obl em s for th e el der l y.

Th ese ar e th e m ost com m on cases in th e h ospital ; th ey accou n t for 80% to 90% of th e patien ts I see ever y day.

al th ou gh th er e is n o cl ear an d r eal tr eatm en t for th is disease yet. M ost of th e patien ts ar e com pl etel y bl in d. Th is pu sh es u s to su ppor t th em an d fol l ow u p on th em r egu l ar l y. It en cou r ages u s to pu r su e a cu r e for th is disease.

An y l ast w or d s?

I wou l d l ik e to th an k th em for givin g m e an oppor tu n ity to l ear n an d I cal l u pon th em to k eep givin g. Ou r society n eeds

Humanit ar ian st or ies ar e abundant because we deal w it h t he gr eat est gif t a human can have; t he gif t of vision. The most t ouching st or ies I encount er ar e dur ing t he out r each pr ogr amme, when I visit villages and see dif f icult cases among older people who ar e neglect ed and mar ginalised. If it wer en?t for our visit s, t hey wouldn?t have hear d about t heir ow n healt h issues.

H u m an itar ian stor ies ar e abu n dan t becau se we deal with th e gr eatest gift a h u m an can h ave; th e gift of vision . Th e m ost tou ch in g stor ies I en cou n ter ar e du r in g th e ou tr each pr ogr am m e, wh en I visit vil l ages an d see difficu l t cases am on g ol der peopl e wh o ar e n egl ected an d m ar gin al ised. If it wer en ?t for ou r visits, th ey wou l dn ?t h ave h ear d abou t th eir own h eal th issu es. On ce I exam in ed a you n g ch il d wh o h ad r etin al detach m en t. It seem ed th at sh e h ad h ad it for a wh il e an d n obody h ad n oticed.It was pain fu l for m e to k n ow th at su ch a you n g ch il d in th e begin n in g of h er l ife wil l l ose h er vision .

H er editar y r etin al diseases ar e ver y u psettin g as wel l . Th ey ar e ver y com m on h er e du e to con san gu in eou s m ar r iages th at stil l exist an d m ak e th ese diseases so com m on . W e h ave a week l y cl in ic for th ese patien ts,

tr ain ed peopl e wh o can per for m m ajor su r ger ies in or der to im pr ove ou r h eal th car e ser vices. So I cal l u pon th em to con tin u e to su ppor t th is pr ogr am m e, so we, as doctor s, can h ave a ch an ce to pu r su e su b-special ties beyon d th e r egu l ar oph th al m ol ogy. Th e cu r r en t gl obal tr en d is to pu r su e su b-special ties th at ar e ver y r ar e h er e in Pal estin e. I wou l d l ik e to go on with m y edu cation jou r n ey,specifical l y to pu r su e a su b-special isation th at tak es a year or two to com pl eted fol l owin g m y fel l owsh ip pr ogr am m e. Th er e won ?t be an y fin an cial bu r den com par ed to th e r esu l t. Th e ser vices th at I cou l d be abl e to pr ovide to peopl e wou l d be pr icel ess. I h ope th ey con tin u e th eir su ppor t after th e fel l owsh ip pr ogr am m e at th e h ospital .

This inter view has been lightly edited for cla

Name: Zehni Chang Age: 45 Year s Locat ion: Pak ist an Phot o by Lannon Har ley

Rest or ing t he Gif t of Sight Rea l St or i es Rea l Li ves

For ty-five year ol d Zeh n i Ch an g h ad been bl in ded by bil ater al catar acts for seven year s. Zeh n i an d h er fam il y ar e far m er s wh o ear n 25 000 r u pees a year (appr oxim atel y $460 AUD).

Zeh n i r em em ber s al l th e activities th at sh e u sed to per for m befor e bl in dn ess h ad set in su ch as goin g to th e far m , l ook in g after cattl e an d seein g h er gr an dch il dr en . Sh e does n ot k n ow an yon e el se wh o is bl in d an d does n ot k n ow an yth in g abou t catar act su r ger y an d wh at it in vol ves bu t h as a fir m bel ief th at god wil l en su r e sh e sees again .

Zeh n i h ad h er sigh t in h er l eft eye r estor ed at th e an n u al eye cam p h el p at th e Badin Distr ict H ospital . Th e eye cam p was fu n ded by Th e Fr ed H ol l ows Fou n dation an d paid for th e su r ger ies for al l patien ts.

Zeh n i l ives with h er dau gh ter (H assin a) an d son in l aw (Gh u l am M oh am m ed).

Envisioning a Hopef ul Fut ur e