The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) has selected Cure Blindness Project Board Chair and 27-year volunteer Dr. Matthew Oliva as recipient of its 2026 AAO Outstanding Humanitarian Service Award.
Iowa ophthalmologist Kanwal Singh Matharu went to Zambia with Orbis International not to operate but to teach. His bet: the surest way to treat blindness is to leave behind surgeons who can continue to cure it after you’ve gone.
”My global ophthalmology fellowship with Stanford University and Cure Blindness Project has been filled with remarkable and moving experiences that have given me insights into not only different cultures and effective public health delivery across different settings but also into myself.”
Dr. Blake Marleau Snyder recently performed 800 cataract surgeries in Ethiopia with the Cure Blindness Project, a global effort to eliminate preventable blindness through a rapid, cost-effective procedure.
Cure Blindness Project has joined the international eye health community in marking World Sight Day on October 9. Celebrating its 30th anniversary, the organization is expanding programs across Asia and Africa.