Honouring Michael Johnson AM
The Fred Hollows Foundation pays tribute to Michael Johnson AM, a long-time stalwart of the organisation whose commitment and leadership helped shape The Foundation from its earliest days. Michael passed away on Thursday 26 March after a short illness.
Michael was one of The Foundation’s original Board members, serving continuously since its establishment in 1992, with only two short breaks.
In 2015, Michael was invested as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to the blind and vision impaired, to education, and to the community. It was an honour he so richly deserved.
The Fred Hollows Foundation extends its deepest condolences to Michael’s family – his wife Paula and their sons, friends and loved ones. He will be remembered with great respect, gratitude and affection by all who had the privilege of working alongside him.
30 years ago, The Fred Hollows Foundation began a global movement to end avoidable blindness
Inspired by our founder, Professor Fred Hollows—an eye surgeon and humanitarian who believed in empowering people to help themselves—we’ve restored sight or prevented blindness to over 150 million people worldwide. Fred’s vision was to eliminate avoidable blindness, and with your help, it’s a vision we can achieve.
Today, 9 out of 10 people who are blind or vision impaired don’t need to be. Many people stay needlessly blind because they live in poverty. In low and middle income countries, blindness denies people education, independence, and the ability to work—opportunities that can break the poverty cycle. But all this can be changed with as little as $25 in some countries.
In more than 25 countries, we work with governments and partners to strengthen eye health systems, break down barriers to care, and train local eye care professionals to reach those in need—just as Fred envisioned.
We see a world in which no person is needlessly blind or vision impaired. With the support of our partners in 2024, our global impact was profound.
8102299
People screened.
562213
Eye operations and treatments performed.
178638
Pairs of glasses distributed.
66852
People trained including community health workers, teachers, and surgeons.
A vision for change
Facing a global eye health crisis, we’re committed to creating lasting change. With your support, just $25 can help restore sight and transform lives.
The eye health crisis
Right now, 1.1 billion people are living with vision loss that could have been prevented. The demand for eye care is growing rapidly, outpacing even the best efforts. This crisis hits the most vulnerable the hardest: those living in poverty, in remote areas, women and girls, and the elderly.
How we're tackling it
We’re focusing on a big-picture approach—investing in research and technology, training healthcare workers, and partnering with governments to make eye care accessible to everyone. By addressing the root causes of vision loss, we’re not just treating blindness—we’re preventing it.
You can help
We can’t solve this problem alone—we need you with us. By becoming a Visionary or making a donation today, you’ll help us train doctors, provide eye care in remote areas, and give the gift of sight to those who need it most.
We're bringing eye care to all
Across more than 25 countries, we’re partnering with governments and local communities to build strong, sustainable eye health systems. Our work focuses on removing barriers to care and training the local workforce to meet the urgent needs of those with vision impairment.
Our mission is clear: to ensure that everyone, no matter where they live, has access to high-quality, affordable eye care. We believe that sight should never depend on where you were born.
But our work is far from over. Around 1 billion people globally are living with vision impairment that could be prevented or treated, including 43 million who are blind. With your support, we can continue to change lives and bring sight to those who need it most.
Every eye is an eye. When you are doing the surgery there, that is just as important as if you were doing eye surgery on the prime minister or the king.
