Professor Allen Foster, president of CBM
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- President of CBM: Prof Dr Allen Foster. © CBM
Professor Dr. Allen Foster has been presdident of CBM since January 2006.
Prof. Dr. Allen Foster is a British ophthalmologist, whose work in the field of prevention of blindness is internationally widely recognised. Dr. Foster has been working with CBM for over 30 years. He first started as a medical doctor at Mvumi Hospital (Tanzania) in September 1975. In 1985 he returned to the U.K. and became CBM’s Medical Director. In 2002 he was appointed Professor of International Eye Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Director of the International Centre for Eye Health (ICEH). He has played an integral part in the success of the VISION 2020 – Right to Sight global initiative, receiving various international awards and UK honours. Being very involved and passionate about preventing blindness and helping blind people in developing countries for many years already, Dr. Foster is enthusiastic about his new position: "I want to seize the opportunity to extend my efforts to people with all types of disabilities,building upon the experience with programmes like Vision 2020."
Prof. Dr. Allen Foster is a British ophthalmologist, whose work in the field of prevention of blindness is internationally widely recognised. Dr. Foster has been working with CBM for over 30 years. He first started as a medical doctor at Mvumi Hospital (Tanzania) in September 1975. In 1985 he returned to the U.K. and became CBM’s Medical Director. In 2002 he was appointed Professor of International Eye Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Director of the International Centre for Eye Health (ICEH). He has played an integral part in the success of the VISION 2020 – Right to Sight global initiative, receiving various international awards and UK honours. Being very involved and passionate about preventing blindness and helping blind people in developing countries for many years already, Dr. Foster is enthusiastic about his new position: "I want to seize the opportunity to extend my efforts to people with all types of disabilities,building upon the experience with programmes like Vision 2020."
In early 2006, Pastor Christian Garms stepped down as CBM Executive Director in order to pursue his international activities. He will continue his work as Senior Vice President of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB).
CBM wishes to thank Pastor Garms for his 17 years of tireless work helping people with disability in the developing world. Since joining CBM Germany in 1988, he has been responsible for many of CBM's achievements, most notably the creation of a network of international experts acting as CBM’s consultants on technical questions, and the development of professional policy papers describing CBM’s working principles in all fields of work. On the international scene he has developed the role of CBM in the VISION 2020 global initiative and more recently WWHearing, an initiative to make low-cost hearing aids more accessible in developing countries. These achievements have been recognised internationally resulting in Christian Garms’ election as Senior Vice President of IAPB in 2004 and most recently being awarded the Merit Cross of the German Federal Republic.
CBM wishes to thank Pastor Garms for his 17 years of tireless work helping people with disability in the developing world. Since joining CBM Germany in 1988, he has been responsible for many of CBM's achievements, most notably the creation of a network of international experts acting as CBM’s consultants on technical questions, and the development of professional policy papers describing CBM’s working principles in all fields of work. On the international scene he has developed the role of CBM in the VISION 2020 global initiative and more recently WWHearing, an initiative to make low-cost hearing aids more accessible in developing countries. These achievements have been recognised internationally resulting in Christian Garms’ election as Senior Vice President of IAPB in 2004 and most recently being awarded the Merit Cross of the German Federal Republic.
Foster's vision: "To reach more persons with disabilities"
Allen Foster’s foremost goal in his new position is to help more people with disability to have access to preventive, curative and rehabilitative services through CBM partners. He says: "At the moment, CBM reaches 2-3 per cent of all people with disabilities worldwide. By increasing our income and improving our services, CBM aims to reach 10 per cent. But if we want to reach 50 per cent of all people living with a disability we need to also network and cooperate with governments and other NGOs."
Working from CBM’s office in Bensheim, Germany, one of Professor Foster's foremost tasks is to establish the new leadership team at the management level of CBM. He has a clear vision of what is expected of him: "There is a lot of expertise and excellence within CBM, in the area of programme development as well as in the area of fundraising. I want to do my best to bring those resources together and combine them in such a way that CBM is achieving one common vision, which is to improve the quality of life of more persons with disability around the world in order to demonstrate God’s love as shown to us through Jesus Christ."
Working from CBM’s office in Bensheim, Germany, one of Professor Foster's foremost tasks is to establish the new leadership team at the management level of CBM. He has a clear vision of what is expected of him: "There is a lot of expertise and excellence within CBM, in the area of programme development as well as in the area of fundraising. I want to do my best to bring those resources together and combine them in such a way that CBM is achieving one common vision, which is to improve the quality of life of more persons with disability around the world in order to demonstrate God’s love as shown to us through Jesus Christ."
