Australia is the only developed country to still have trachoma, a painful and blinding eye disease. The Fred Hollows Foundation joined forces with HSBC Bank Australia in 2015 with a shared commitment to eliminate this disease of poverty and disadvantage. Over the past six years, this partnership has contributed to the reduction of Australia’s overall rates of trachoma, with at-risk communities falling 17%.
The Foundation’s commitment to eliminating trachoma dates back to the 1970s, when Professor Fred Hollows and his team undertook the momentous National Trachoma and Eye Health Program.
Fred wanted trachoma eradicated from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. He wanted Australians to take notice of the appalling living conditions, and the lack of access to basic health needs and sanitation faced by people in their own country.
Over the course of two years, they screened more than 100,000 people in 465 communities, and halved the rates of blindness experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
The Fred Hollows Foundation is carrying on this work, with partners like HSBC Bank Australia, who invested more than $1.3 million to eliminate trachoma and create positive, sustainable change for Australia’s First Peoples.
HSBC’s significant support helped screen and treat over 13,000 people for trachoma, and train 47 community-based workers to deliver critical services in remote Central Australian communities. They also supported the education of community members and school students to reduce the spread of the disease.
Through investing in Australia’s future eye health workforce and building community knowledge around health seeking behaviours, these interventions will have significant long-term impacts for many thousands of people, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health more broadly.
Over the next two years, The Foundation will continue to work with partners, health services and governments to prioritise the improvement of environmental health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and finally eliminate trachoma.
The Fred Hollows Foundation would like to thank HSBC for their generous contribution to our trachoma elimination work. This support has brought us closer to closing the gap in eye health so that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples can exercise their right to sight, good health and self-determination.
Watch this video to see HSBC’s impact on our work in Australia:
COVER PHOTO CREDIT: Arianna Claridge