Brien Holden Vision Institute (BHVI) has appointed Tim Fricke as acting Executive Director of its social enterprise, which delivers improved eye care to those most in need in Australia and across the world.
Mr Fricke will manage the team while Executive Director Leigh Cleave fulfils her lifelong dream of exploring new countries for the next year.
According to BHVI, Mr Fricke who is a senior research fellow with the institution, is “uniquely qualified for the complex role”.
Mr Fricke is an optometrist, researcher and international development practitioner and has held management and leadership roles in private, public and community health. He brings extensive paediatrics clinical experience and post-graduate research in paediatrics eye care and health economics, along with his international research into the development of local systems and skills for eye care in developing countries.
I am a passionate advocate for sight being a fundamental right for everyone, regardless of where they live and BHVI is the world leader in ensuring this vision becomes a reality
“Vision impairment is a major contributor to global poverty. There are more than 1.22 billion people who are blind, or vision impaired simply because they do not have access to eye examinations and glasses – things most Australian’s take for granted,” says BHVI CEO, Yvette Waddell. “We believe this is a crisis which requires an urgent and massive response. At BHVI, we are committed to researching and implementing solutions to meet this crisis head on and reverse the trend towards blindness.”
“I am a passionate advocate for sight being a fundamental right for everyone, regardless of where they live and BHVI is the world leader in ensuring this vision becomes a reality. It is an exciting time to be taking BHVI to the world,” said Mr Fricke.
BHVI was established in 1985 and six years later it launched its specialist science arm, VisionCRC. It has a long successful history of co-developing innovative ophthalmic devices, including the Focus Night & Day contact lens with Alcon/CIBA Vision. This has brought in more than AU$300 million in royalty income for BHVI and its global project partners.
Through its foundation, BHVI provides child eye health care, accessible eye care and help to train and develop the optometrist workforce in Australia and across the globe.
