More Images
SYDNEY—BHVI is embarking on a new strategic roadmap for the organization, according to a recent announcement and the group has named Tim Fricke as acting executive director of BHVI's social enterprise delivering improved eyecare to those most in need in Australia and across the world. Fricke will manage the team while Leigh Cleave, BHVI executive director is traveling for the next year, the announcement said. Fricke, is a senior research fellow with BHVI. He is an optometrist, researcher and international development practitioner and has held management and leadership roles in private, public and community health.

He brings extensive pediatrics clinical experience and post-graduate research in pediatrics eyecare and health economics, along with his international research into the development of local systems and skills for eyecare in developing countries, the organization said.

“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,” said 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 toward 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,” added Fricke.

With a goal to eliminate vision impairment and avoidable blindness, BHVI is a social enterprise with a clear mandate and an experienced and committed team working to improve the quality of life for people all around the world. For more than 30 years, the organization has focused on creating superior modes of vision correction for the most common eye conditions—refractive errors.