What challenges did they have to overcome to do eye health care in the pacific?

Fred and Dr Ruit (eye surgeon) had a shared vision of bringing modern eye health services to Nepal. They both knew that cataract blindness could be reversed with a relatively simple operation. The fundamental problem was that the tiny plastic lens (known as an IOL) needed to replace the cataract-damaged lens of the eye cost around $200 each, making cataract surgery much too expensive for people in the developing world .Fred lobbied the multi-national manufacturers to drop the price of IOLs but had no success. So in the early 1990s, Fred and Dr Ruit began working together towards building a world-class IOL manufacturing facility in Nepal. "They both pushed boundaries and demanded results and their combination was always going to give us an enduring and powerful legacy," says Gabi.*In 1994, one year after Fred passed away, the Fred Hollows IOL Laboratory at the Tilganga Eye Centre in Kathmandu began producing high quality, low-cost IOLs. Today, an IOL costs around $5.Since then, the laboratory has produced more than two million lenses and is one of six divisions within the Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology (TIO) – a world class eye care hospital and one of The Foundation’s most valued partners. Dr Ruit is the Medical Director and is recognised worldwide as one of the giants of ophthalmology.