How it Started

Following the success of a training program conducted in Africa in 1995, The Fred Hollows Foundation committed to opening a regional office in Africa.

The Republic of South Africa was chosen as the office location which was a decision influenced by the pressing need for development assistance in South Africa, following post-apartheid.

Within South Africa the Eastern Cape Province was identified as an area of great need and negotiations began with the country's Department of Health to form a partnership with the Eastern Cape Province Department of Health (DOH).

In 2001 Fiki Nxumalo was appointed as Country Manager and undertook a survey on the level of preventable blindness in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The survey revealed what was already suspected; in excess of 30,000 cataract blind people in the province and the worst cataract surgery rate in South Africa.

The survey also revealed very low levels of human resources and equipment, which was compounded by poor infrastructure and service delivery systems.

It was also found that cataract operations were being performed in just three urban public hospitals, which were booked ahead months in advance. Cataract surgery was not publicly available in rural areas because of an absence of specialist staff or simply because of a lack of equipment or supplies.

Early work in South Africa involved establishing the most appropriate location for The Foundation’s work and the appropriate structures for program delivery. It was decided that the Eastern Cape, as one of the most disadvantaged regions of the country, was an appropriate location to establish a presence, and that the formation of an independent local organisation, The  Fred Hollows Foundation South Africa, was the appropriate vehicle for blindness prevention work in the country.

The Fred Hollows Foundation South Africa was incorporated in January 2001, with its main objective, as set out in its Memorandum and Articles of Association, being:

“To develop sustainable local capacity to prevent and treat avoidable blindness in Southern Africa and to act as a catalyst for improving the health of Southern Africans with special focus on rural communities.”

In November 2001 The Fred Hollows Foundation South Africa entered its first Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Eastern Cape Department of Health and the Eastern Cape Blindness Prevention Program was established.

In conjunction with six of the province's regional and district rural hospitals, the initial priorities were to equip hospitals and train local staff. Initially, one regional and two rural doctors were trained within their own hospitals by a visiting ophthalmologist. In the first year of the program The Foundation also funded the training of three theatre nurses.

In November 2005 a second MOA was signed between the partners which set out the basis for an expanded program, including the construction and operation of the Sabona Centre, a centre for eye care excellence at Frontier Hospital in Queenstown.