Recipients of the Inaugural Grant Round

The first ANZEF annual grant round launched in March 2023 for individuals and organisations across the Asia-Pacific region working to improve eye health. A remarkable range of applications totalling a combined value of AU$1.47M was submitted for education, local capacity building, research, awareness and advocacy projects, with many demonstrating enormous potential.

The grant round has resulted in the commitment of $185,000 to fund the following six outstanding projects:

  • Western Murrumbidgee LHD Indigenous Eye Care Project – led by A/Prof Geoffrey Painter, Dr Dominic McCall and Mrs Kerrie Legg, Foresight Australia | Read more
  • Bad sugars, bad eyes – a culturally appropriate diabetic retinopathy screening campaign in the Kimberley – led by A/Prof Angus Turner, Lions Eye Institute | Read more
  • Mentoring workshop in Auckland for Māori and Pasifika future applicants to the Vocational Training Program – led by Dr Justin Mora, RANZCO Māori and Pasifika Eye Health Committee | Read more
  • Lions InReach Vision: improving eye care for Indigenous Australians, Refugees, and Asylum Seekers in Perth’s Metropolitan Region – led by Dr Marcel Nejatian and A/Prof Hessom Razavi, Lions Eye Institute | Read more
  • Sponsorship of Pacific Islands participants for microsurgical skills training – led by A/Prof Graham Wilson, A/Prof Con Petsoglou and Dr Yves Kerdraon, with the training run and administered by The University of Sydney | Read more
  • Expansion of support for Global Eye Health Workshop speakers at RANZCO Congress – led by Prof Mark Radford, Queensland Eye Institute | Read more

“This call for grants has highlighted the vast scope of work being done in the region to contribute to improving equity and access in eye care. Although limited funds prevented us from supporting all worthy applications, their high calibre made clear how much opportunity there is for further investment.

We’re thrilled and honoured to support these six selected projects that promise to deliver positive change for their communities.”

 Paula Llavallol, Head of Foundation.

These grants are made possible by the extraordinary generosity of our donors. The Foundation is incredibly grateful for your support, which has established the grant round as an annual initiative.

Thank you to all those who applied to this grant round and congratulations to the six grant recipients. We look forward to introducing each project in the coming weeks and months.

If you missed this year’s round and have a potential project planned to improve eye health equity and access, keep an eye out for the next call for grants, which will be announced in February-March 2024 through RANZCO and ANZEF communication channels.