Fieldwork

The tradition of fieldwork dates back to Sir Harold Ridley’s posting to Ghana in 1941, when his field research in Funsi led to a better understanding and ultimate cure of Ocular Onchocerciasis or River blindness that affected 90% of the rural population of West Africa.

Further wartime assignments to India and Burma led to research into nutritional amblyopia amongst returning Allied prisoners of war. Ridley used multivitamin therapy, returned them to a normal diet and then noted improvement in the prisoners’ condition. The Burma theatre of war permitted the first large population study of individuals with nutritional amblyopia: a total of over 500 within his region of whom about 200 he personally examined and treated. The Foundation has continued to work internationally in many remote or difficult environments including: