Cure Blindness Project and The Fred Hollows Foundation announced a strategic partnership aimed at accelerating the elimination of avoidable blindness in Rwanda and Laos by 2035, while addressing cataract backlogs in additional countries. The collaboration will focus on expanding surgical capacity, strengthening health systems, and training local eye care workforces. Over the next 5 years, the organizations plan to support more than 177,000 cataract surgeries across Rwanda and Laos, where cataract remains the leading cause of blindness despite being treatable.

In Rwanda, approximately 100,000 individuals currently require cataract surgery, with projections estimating that vision loss could affect 1.7 million people by 2050 without intervention. The initiative calls for $41.1 million in investment to fund more than 125,000 surgeries, establish 14 specialized eye units, and train ophthalmologists and community health workers. In Laos, where 66,000 people require surgery, a $12.73 million investment over 5 years would support surgical care, workforce training, and the equipping of 37 hospitals nationwide.

Ross Piper, CEO of The Fred Hollows Foundation, said of the partnership, “Fred Hollows always believed that sight was a basic human right. This partnership embodies that belief."

Globally, more than 43 million people are blind, with 90% living in low-income and middle-income countries. The organizations emphasized in the news release that coordinated investment in eye care can yield substantial returns, citing estimates of a 1:28 economic benefit. The effort will be implemented in collaboration with national governments and partners to build sustainable, locally led eye care systems.