Director of Research
| Selected winner: | The Fred Hollows Foundation |
| Solution name: | Improving access to diabetic retinopathy screening |
| Origin of the winner: | Australia |
The Fred Hollows Foundation is a leading international development organization. The Foundation works in more than 25 countries throughout East and South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Australia and the Pacific. The foundation aims to strengthen health systems and work with communities to improve their own eye health through life-changing surgeries and treatments, training doctors and health workers, generating new ideas, and pushing for change at all levels – from local to global. The Foundation has a 30-year history of working with national health ministries and partners in lower- and middle-income countries to improve health systems and eliminate avoidable blindness.
Improving access to diabetic retinopathy screening
The diabetic retinopathy detecting solution screens and manages diabetic eye disease, particularly for underserved populations, and explores wider applicability of successful telehealth/AI technologies developed in Western Pacific Region. The programme also develops a roadmap for embedding telehealth/AI in the diabetic retinopathy care pathway in Viet Nam, looking at systems and processes, financing and other policy and contextual considerations. It also aims to understand barriers and enablers for successful introduction of these technologies drawing on the expertise of local and international stakeholders.
The Challenge winners are solely responsible for their contributions and views. They do not necessarily reflect those of WHO. In no event shall WHO be responsible for the accuracy of information shared by any of the participants. These solutions were judged for their merits as novel, creative solutions but no specific technology assessment was applied, nor any endorsement in practice should be implied.