The Australian Minister for Indigenous Health, Warren Snowdon, has visited the Siem Reap Regional Eye Hospital in northern Cambodia to see first-hand the work being done to eliminate avoidable blindness in the region.

Indigenous Health Minister Warren Snowdon said it was an honour to see the sight restoring work being carried out at the hospital.

Accompanied by his family, Minister Snowdon witnessed operations and spoke with patients who had only recently had their sight restored.

One 84-year-old woman who had been blind for over four years was accompanied by her granddaughter who had been kept home from school to care for her. 

"I consider it a real honour to have been able to visit and see the work supported by The Fred Hollows Foundation and the Australian Government through AusAID," Minister Snowdon said.

"It's fantastic work and I'm certainly going to carry that message back to Foreign Minister Bob Carr."

The Siem Reap Regional Eye Hospital was built with The Foundation's support, together with funding provided though the Australian Government's Avoidable Blindness Initiative to reduce avoidable blindness in 10 provinces of Cambodia and the municipality of Phnom Penh.

> Find out more about The Foundation's sight-restoring work in Cambodia.