Chev Dr. Tony Fernandez
Founder Chairman
MS, DO (RCS RCP London), FRCS (Glas)
Dr. Tony received his initial ophthalmology training in England, where he did his Diploma in Ophthalmology(DO Lon.)
Dr. Tony began his career in India as an Assistant Professor at Madurai Medical College under the renowned Prof. Late Dr. G. Venketasamy. He completed his MS ophthalmology at Madurai. There, he established the Orthoptic and Pleoptic Department, along with South India's first dedicated training school for squint treatment. In 1969, he joined Little Flower Mission Hospital in Angamaly—a small village in Kerala at the time. Starting with a five-bed eye wing, he expanded it into the 200-bed CBM Ophthalmic Institute, now respected across India and internationally. In 1971, he launched free eye camps and school screening programs to combat preventable blindness in Kerala. Through the Eye Bank Association he founded in 1970, he collected thousands of donor corneas, restoring sight via transplantation for countless patients. He also pioneered advanced procedures in Kerala, including intraocular implantation, refractive surgery, keratoplasty, and squint surgery—drawing patients from across the state, India, and abroad. Dr. Tony served as Editor of the Indian Journal of Ophthalmology (IJO) from 1987 to 1992 and was unanimously elected President of the Indian Ophthalmological Society in 1994. He also held roles as an executive member of the Indian Medical Council and a member of the Medical Faculty at M.G. University. His contributions earned him the Padma Shri from the President of India, the B.C. Roy Award from the Medical Council of India, and the papal title of “Chevalier” from His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI—among other national honors from leading Indian professional organizations. In 2011, the KCBC Media Commission awarded him the “Gurupooja Puraskaram,” and the Jacobite Syrian Church bestowed the “St. Athanasius Award.” In 2008, he founded his own hospital in Aluva, now run by his son, Dr. Freddy T. Simon. He also serves as Founder President of Kerala Action Force, a charitable organization focused on first-aid training, youth development, disability rehabilitation, pain and palliative care, promoting voluntary blood and eye donation, and health education. His Family Trust supports further initiatives, including aid for needy children, homes for the destitute, and rehabilitation for the underprivileged.
