Gabi Hollows wins the inaugural Ryman Prize

Gabi Hollows wins the inaugural Ryman Prize

Decades of work to restore sight for older people recognised

Gabi Hollows has been awarded the inaugural Ryman Prize in recognition of her tireless work over more than two decades to help restore sight to more than 1 million people.

The Ryman Prize is a US$150,000 international prize for the best work in the world that has enhanced quality of life for older people.

Gabi was selected by the Ryman Prize’s international jury from nominees from all around the world.

She is the Founding Director of The Fred Hollows Foundation, the charity she set up with her late husband Professor Fred Hollows. Together, Fred and Gabi gathered a team around them, working to tackle the problem of preventable blindness in the developing world and for Indigenous Australians. The Fred Hollows Foundation now works in more than 20 countries, providing affordable, high-quality, sight-restoring surgery to some of the poorest people in the world.

In the 23 years since the Hollows Foundation was established more than 1 million people have had their sight restored. The vast majority of the recipients are older people who could not have otherwise afforded to have cataract surgery.
Professor Erwin Neher, a Ryman Prize juror and a former winner of the Nobel Prize for medicine, presented Gabi with her Ryman medal at a ceremony in Auckland today.

“We had many high quality entries from around the world which made it difficult to choose a winner,’’ Professor Neher said.

“We were impressed with the profound and measurable impact that the work of Gabi and The Foundation have had on so many older people and their communities around the world. She is a deserving winner of this prize.’’

Gabi Hollows said winning was an honour.

“In many cultures they believe that when your hair goes grey your eyes go grey as well and there is nothing you can do about it. Fred strongly believed that everyone had the right to have their sight restored, no matter where they lived or how much money they had. The joy you have in giving back someone’s sight is the most amazing thing in the world.’’

ENDS

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