About the Ridley Eye Foundation

ABOUT

The Foundation

The purpose of the Ridley Eye Foundation (REF) is to provide funding to enable the delivery and clinical development of small incision manual cataract eye surgery to the most needy. Having spent a number of years supporting cataract surgery in West Africa, Yemen, and Egypt. The Ridley Eye Foundation (REF) has now adopted a strategy of providing funds for locally organised medical camps delivering small incision cataract surgery in remote areas above 2000m. The initial geographic focus of this work is in Nepal. The Charity has already established REF Nepal (link to REFN page) to facilitate delivery and funding of this objective.

Objectives

Having provided support to ophthalmic centres in Yemen, Egypt, and India, the REF is now seeking to develop additional capacity in Nepal. The determining criteria for Nepal are relative political stability; an increasingly developed medical infrastructure; good statistical data; reliable epidemiological research; but limited resource and capacity to service the remote regions of Nepal where the incidence of blindness is increasing.

The Covid pandemic has seriously impacted the timeline and the implementation of this strategy. Nevertheless we are currently funding cataract surgery in Community Clinics in the Kathmandu Valley and the North East Highlands.

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Where it began

The Ridley Eye Foundation has establish in 1967 by Sir Harold Ridley. Its original purpose was to provide welfare for medical staff who found themselves in distress. This quickly widened to providing support to small incision cataract surgery in remote and low income areas in the developing world. The Foundation has also funded research in Behcet’s Disease and Age Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD).

MORE HISTORY

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projects complete

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sights restored

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