Global Town Hall for Corporate Partners

Jessica Millar | 8 October 2020

In celebration of World Sight Day 2020, The Fred Hollows Foundation welcomed corporate partners and supporters to our inaugural Global Town Hall event.

Hosted by Nick Martin, Deputy CEO of The Fred Hollows Foundation, the event discussed the impacts of COVID-19 on businesses in Australia.

As we are experiencing a new normal, businesses and charities need to adapt and adjust quickly to cope with immediate and long-term change.

For staff working in offices, the transition to working from home was sudden and disruptive. This is having a profound impact on mental health, physical health, internal business culture and staff satisfaction.

Working from home has transformed how, where and when we work, how we communicate, how we interact with our customers, clients and suppliers. Social distancing, wearing masks and working from home have all become commonplace for many workplaces in Australia and around the world.

Companies have had to diversify, consider unnecessary costs like office space, be innovative or transition into the digital space. Businesses that have been able to adjust or have strategies that suit the market’s needs have seen unprecedented growth during the COVID-19 pandemic:

Many e-commerce marketplaces are growing rapidly, with people moving online to do their shopping. Already, Amazon is adding 100,000 new jobs to manage the extra demand.
Pharmaceuticals, particularly those that produce relevant drugs, who are working on developing a vaccine, that supply testing kits, or are manufacturers of key pieces of equipment like respirators are responding quickly to supply and demand increases.
Logistics and delivery, including food delivery apps, are benefiting as people around the world are staying in their homes more, and needing more products and services delivered.
Video conferencing has benefited massively, like Zoom, with the company’s sales and share price already up more than 718% in 2020.
Entertainment streaming and gaming services are growing in popularity, such as platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime video, and Disney+.

During the event, two of The Fred Hollows Foundation’s Corporate Partners presented their unique perspectives and experiences of the pandemic so far: Matt Rosich, Chief Marketing Officer for Close Comfort, and Jason Khoury, Managing Partner from iChoice.

Partner Spotlight One: Close Comfort

Close Comfort is an Australian owned and operated start-up, offering innovative portable refrigerated air conditioning solutions. It has partnered with The Foundation since 2019, committing to donate $20 for every air conditioning unit they sell across their markets, including Australia, Indonesia, and Singapore.

Matt Rosich, the Chief Marketing Officer for Close Comfort, spoke from Perth.

Matt discussed how Close Comfort has continued to expand into new international markets during the pandemic but this has come with its challenges. Close Comfort has had to pivot its strategy to focus on potential wins, rather than increasing communications with its existing database. For example, in some markets where they didn’t have a physical retail presence, Close Comfort chose to increase its online sales footprint and provide free shipping.

Matt said, the pandemic feels like “we are all in the same storm, but are not in the same boat.” This quote demonstrates how experience and perspective of the storm that has hit the world this year is significantly different depending on your personal context.

Partner Spotlight Two: iChoice

iChoice is a leading home and commercial loan, and mortgage broker specialist in Sydney. It has partnered with The Fred Hollows Foundation since the end of 2017. Over this time, they have helped restore sight to more than 2,500 people.

Managing Partner from iChoice, Jason Khoury, spoke about the challenges and uncertainty facing the finance industry and the public as we look into the future.

The finance industry has experienced significant turmoil over the past few years. From the Banking Royal Commission in 2018, to 2020 with Australia facing its deepest recession since the Great Depression in the 1930s.

Jason spoke about the personal and emotional challenges for the business that have come with the pandemic. iChoice has needed to provide more emotional support to its clients, particularly those who are finding it difficult to meet their mortgage payments and support their families.

Jason recommended that while we may be facing uncertainty in the world, financially and otherwise, we should move forward with positivity. Jason confirmed that iChoice would continue to provide a high level of service and support for their exciting and prospective clients going into the future.

Update on The Fred Hollows Foundation’s work

Like many organisations, COVID-19 has impacted The Foundation’s ability to deliver programs globally. Jon Crail, Executive Director of Programs at The Foundation, discussed during the event how the outbreak of COVID-19 had caused significant disruption to The Foundation’s eye health programming. Nation-wide lockdowns, school closures and other measures are affecting our ability to deliver vital eye care to those who need it.

In countries like Nepal, Pakistan, and in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia, the temporary suspension of non-essential surgery, including cataract surgery, has taken a significant toll with a growing backlog of people who need cataract surgery unable to access it.

While some partners have continued urgent eye care under difficult circumstances, others are using their skills to fight the pandemic. In Vietnam, Pakistan, Myanmar and The Philippines, the eye health workforce has been redirected to fight COVID-19 on the frontline. In Kenya, eye clinics have been repurposed to treat and isolate COVID-19 patients.

The Foundation has been working hard to support our partners as they adjust and respond to the rapidly changing environment. Where possible, safe and appropriate we are:

Supporting our local partners to be prepared for COVID-19 outbreaks through the procurement and provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as surgical masks, hand sanitiser, and gloves for front-line health workers;
Using our expertise in community engagement, health promotion and logistics to support local COVID-19 responses around social distancing, sanitation and hygiene;
Supporting essential eye health services, particularly emergency treatment to prevent vision loss and blindness, time sensitive interventions for children, and treatments determined by clinicians as urgent or in the best interests of the patient;
Expanding tele-medicine and tele-health to screen and treat those who cannot access eye clinics or hospitals and delivering online training for health workers; and
Preparing to scale quickly and effectively to tackle the cataract backlog when countries recover, including the procurement of new equipment, consumables and vital PPE across all countries in which we work.

The pandemic is unlocking innovations in program delivery, as digital health tools and tele-health services replace face-to-face appointments and training, ensuring the safety of patients and health workers. The pandemic has also helped tele-health technologies to be implemented quickly and, because in some cases there has been no other option, they have been accepted more than ever

before. These technologies ensure scale, reach and impact, with enormous potential for the future of eye care in the countries where we work.

Thank you

While we cannot be together physically, it was fantastic for our corporate partners and supporters to meet virtually to share their insights into such a challenging year. With so many positives mentioned at the event, it is inspiring to hear of business growth in adversity and a promising future on the horizon.

Thank to everyone who joined us for the Global Town Hall, celebrating World Sight Day. We look forward to seeing you again soon.

COVER PHOTO CREDIT: Alan McDonald (2014)