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80% of blindness is avoidable. We know what we have to do to end it.

About Time To See

In the Commonwealth today there are 98 million people who are blind or have low vision, yet there are straightforward, known solutions that can make an incalculable difference to the lives of millions of individuals and families who are unnecessarily affected.

Five multi-award winning photojournalists, Poulomi Basu, Sam Faulkner, Ashley Gilbertson, Adam Ferguson and Andrew Quilty, visited seven countries across the Commonwealth - Australia, Fiji, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan and Uganda - to document the impact completely avoidable forms of blindness are having on people and communities.

Time to See highlights work that The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust and Standard Chartered are developing and supporting right across the Commonwealth to prevent avoidable blindness.

TIME TO SEE OPENS IN NEW ZEALAND FOR LANDMARK TOUR

In the latest in its tour of the Commonwealth, Time to See has travelled to New Zealand where a private preview of the exhibition will be held at Government House before going on display to the public in Auckland and Wellington. Time to See features the work of five award winning photographers who visited seven countries where The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust and Standard Chartered are funding projects to prevent avoidable blindness. The exhibition has been viewed by Her Majesty The Queen and Commonwealth Heads of Government at the meeting in Malta. It has also travelled to Sydney for the annual meeting of GET2020 (Global Elimination of Trachoma by 2020) and has appeared in the Palace of Westminster in London. On 23 November, Time to See will be launched in New Zealand at Government House by Governor General, Dame Patsy Reddy. Guests will include the High Commissions of Fiji, Pakistan, Australia, Cook Islands, Somoa, Solomon Islands and Niue. The exhibition will then be open to the public at two locations in New Zealand: Britomart, Auckland from 28 November until 4 December and then it will travel to Wellington Central…

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Time To See Team

Anna Seassau
Cheryl Newman
Poulomi Basu
Sam Faulkner
Adam Ferguson
Ashley Gilbertson
Andrew Quilty

Programme Donors

The Department for International Development, UK
The Government of Australia
The Government of Botswana
The Government of Brunei Darussalam
The Government of Canada
The Government of Guyana
The Governement of Jamaica
The Government of Malaysia
The Government of Namibia
The Government of Nigeria
The Government of New Zealand
The Government of Singapore
The Government of South Africa
The Government of Zambia
The Headley Trust
The END Fund
Conrad N Hilton Foundation
The Eranda Foundation
Lions Clubs International Foundation
Pears Foundation
The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust Australia
The RIND Foundation
The Leona M and Harry B Helmsley Charitable Trust
The Rothschilds Foundation
Fred Hollows Foundation
The Royal Parks
The Royal Collection Trust
Triumph Motorcycles
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

Select A Country

Australia

Australia is the only developed country where people are still affected by blinding trachoma, the world’s leading cause of infectious blindness. It occurs in the majority of remote Aboriginal communities across the country. In 2014 163 communities were at risk of blinding trachoma, a threat exacerbated by overcrowding, inadequate healthcare, poor personal hygiene and impoverished living conditions.

As part of a programme to eliminate blinding trachoma, The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust is working with the Government of Australia, Vision 2020 Australia, the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, The Fred Hollows Foundation and the University of Melbourne Indigenous Eye Health Unit to promote face washing and hygiene in community locations such as schools, childcare centres and sports clubs. Screening is also taking place to enable timely and effective treatment for those who need it. Ownership of the project lies with local communities and leaders. Their involvement and support is essential for ensuring lasting and far-reaching impact.

Adam Ferguson

Adam Ferguson is an independent photojournalist based in Sydney, Australia. His work has been published in magazines including TIME Magazine, National Geographic Magazine, Wired, Vanity Fair, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, ESPN Magazine, The Financial Times Magazine, Stern and Bloomberg Businessweek. In 2015 Adam won the Magazine Category of the Photo District News Photo Annual (The Dogs of War, for National Geographic Magazine) and the Personal Category (for Outposts). He has won several Picture of The Year International awards and a World Press Photo Award.

Fiji

Globally, diabetes rates are reaching epidemic levels. In 2014 there were an estimated 387 million people living with diabetes worldwide, with the highest prevalence in the Pacific.

One of the most devastating complications of diabetes is sight loss. Diabetic retinopathy occurs when poor control of blood sugar levels, high blood pressure and elevated lipid levels damage the blood vessels in the retina. If untreated, it can lead to irreversible blindness.

At its onset, many people do not know they have the condition. Once symptoms develop it is often too late for treatment. Regular screening for those living with diabetes, combined with laser treatment and other forms of management for those with early symptoms of diabetic retinopathy can be very effective in preventing vision loss.

The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust is working with The Fred Hollows Foundation and national Ministries of Health to make diabetic retinopathy screening services accessible to communities in some of the most isolated areas of the Pacific, such as Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Kiribati, where up 29% of the population has diabetes. The Trust and its partners are helping to do this by building a well-trained workforce with access to quality eye-care equipment.

Adam Ferguson

India

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), caused by damage to the retina, can lead to total and irreversible blindness in premature babies. It affects preterm infants whose retinal blood vessels have been unable to develop fully before birth. An affected child may never see light.

Premature babies are often given oxygen in incubators to help them survive, but over-administration of oxygen can be highly toxic to the blood vessels, including those in the retina. Over-exposure to oxygen during the first few hours and days after birth is a major cause of ROP, as is infection. Blindness due to ROP is increasing in middle-income countries, where more premature babies are surviving thanks to improved neonatal care, but where knowledge of ROP and its prevention amongst healthcare workers is sometimes lacking.

Supported by the Government of India, The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust is working with the Public Foundation of India and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to increase awareness of this condition across India and develop programmes to detect and treat ROP, and so prevent more young children needlessly going blind.

Poulomi Basu

Poulomi Basu is a photographer based in New Delhi, India. Poulomi’s work has appeared in The Guardian, The New York Times, International New York Times and the Financial Times Weekend Magazine. She has undertaken assignments for UNESCO, Save the Children, Water Aid and Crisis Action. In 2012 Poulomi was awarded the Magnum Foundation Human Rights Fellowship at New York University and has been recognised by a range of organisations for her personal work To Conquer Her Land and A Quiet Revolution including Magenta Flash Forward Award, Foto Visura Award, Reporters Without Borders, Dali Photo Festival, Asian Women Photographers Showcase, Foto8.

Kenya

Blinding trachoma has been eliminated in nearly every developed country, yet there are still over 6 million people worldwide blind due to the disease, and over 150 million in need of treatment.

Trachoma is an eye infection transmitted by flies and easily passed on by close contact. Women and children are at greatest risk. Repeated trachoma infections cause scarring that turns eyelashes inwards, so they scrape the cornea with every blink. It’s not only very painful but, if left untreated, it can also lead to blindness.

The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust is working in Africa with members of the International Coalition for Trachoma Control, led by Sightsavers, to eliminate blinding trachoma in Kenya and Malawi and make significant advances towards elimination in Mozambique, Nigeria, Uganda and Tanzania.

The Initiative will provide 135,000 people with surgery to correct the in-turned eyelashes of people with advanced trachoma, distribute antibiotic treatment to 13 million people and improve community health messages on good hygiene and sanitation practices to prevent the spread of infection.

Ashley Gilbertson

Ashley Gilbertson is a photographer with the VII photo agency, and a principal at Shell Shock Pictures. Ashley's photographs from Iraq, where he worked from 2002 until 2008, gained him recognition from the Overseas Press Club who awarded him the prestigious Robert Capa Gold Medal. Gilbertson has been examining veterans issues including Post Traumatic Stress and suicide for TIME Magazine, The Virginia Quarterly Review, and The Times. Ashley’s work has been published in various publications including The New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, New York Magazine, The Guardian Magazine (UK) and Le Monde Magazine. His work is in the collections of The National Gallery of Victoria, The National Library of Australia and The Museum of Contemporary Photography.

Nigeria

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, and the seventh most populous country in the world. The majority of the population live below the poverty line.

Standard Chartered’s Urban Eye Care Programme in Nigeria aims to help make comprehensive, high quality and affordable eye care accessible to people in Northern and South West Nigeria. The programme is implemented in two regions of Nigeria across five hospitals. One hospital covers a catchment area of approximately 19 million people.

The project aims to improve eye health services through training and outreach, and raise public awareness about eye conditions and the services available to deal with them.

Sam Faulkner

After graduating in philosophy from King’s College London in 1994, Sam went to Afghanistan to work as a reportage photographer. He has worked around the world for The Telegraph Magazine, The Independent, The Sunday Times Magazine, GQ, Esquire, Vogue, Stern and Paris Match among many others. In 2001 Sam started shooting Cocaine Wars, a long term project about the collateral damage of the war on drugs in Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, Haiti, Mexico and the USA. Sam’s most recent 5 year project, Unseen Waterloo, was exhibited at Somerset House, London in 2015.

Pakistan

There are over 7 million diabetics in Pakistan. About a quarter of them will suffer from diabetic retinopathy. Diabetic retinopathy occurs when poor control of blood sugar levels, high blood pressure and elevated lipid levels damage the blood vessels in the retina. If untreated, it can lead to irreversible blindness. According to research by the International Diabetes Federation, around 35% of people with diabetes in South Asia are unaware they have the disease. Without regular eye examinations, such people have a heightened risk of vision impairment; usually, any loss of vision is irreversible. Early detection and prevention is therefore crucial.

Standard Chartered’s Diabetic Retinopathy Programme seeks to prevent blindness through early detection, regular follow-up and appropriate management of the condition amongst known diabetics in three districts of Pakistan: Karachi, Rawalpindi and Lahore. The project aims to establish a referral system to ensure known diabetes sufferers are screened for diabetic retinopathy and put on to a regular disease management plan.

Andrew Quilty

Andrew Quilty is one of Australia’s leading documentary practitioners and currently based in Kabul. His writing and photographs have been published in The New York Times, TIME Magazine, Harper’s, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Le Monde, GEO, Bloomberg Businessweek, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian Magazine and others. In 2014 Andrew was awarded the highest honour in Australian photojournalism the Nikon Walkley Photographer of the Year. Andrew was named Walkley Australian Freelance Journalist of The Year in June 2015.

Uganda

Globally, there are an estimated 500,000 new cases of childhood blindness every year, with the greatest prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet 40% of blindness in children is avoidable.

Standard Chartered’s Child Eye Health Programme in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania is a collaboration of NGOs, led by CBM and the Brian Holden Vision Institute, designed to reduce avoidable childhood blindness in East Africa. The consortium aims to develop and implement a comprehensive eye care programme that will reach 3 million children up to and below the age of 15, over a 4 year period. It will focus on the provision of quality, child-friendly eye health services to children both in and out of school. The goal is for all 45 million children in East Africa to benefit through changes to national policies and eye care provision.

Ashley Gilbertson

Where To See

Time to See will tour the Commonwealth throughout 2016. More details to follow soon.

80% of blindness is avoidable. We know what we have to do to end it.

About Time To See

TIME TO SEE OPENS IN NEW ZEALAND FOR LANDMARK TOUR

Time To See Team

Programme Donors

Programme Partners

Select A Country

Australia

Australia

Adam Ferguson

Fiji

Fiji

Adam Ferguson

India

India

Poulomi Basu

Kenya

Kenya

Ashley Gilbertson

Nigeria

Nigeria

Sam Faulkner

Pakistan

Pakistan

Andrew Quilty

Uganda

Uganda

Ashley Gilbertson

Where To See

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