At this year’s Danish Medical Meeting, Gøril and Jannik Boberg-Ans, both specialists in eye diseases and founders of the organization Save Sight, were awarded the Danish Medical Association’s Honorary Award. The Boberg-Ans receive the honorary award for their tireless work to help cataract patients in developing countries regain their sight. Their mission to travel and help the world’s poorest people is a good example of a special effort that can inspire other doctors.

“The Boberg-Ans couple are receiving the award for 20 years of traveling and restoring sight to people with cataracts in developing countries. It is an inspiration that Gøril and Jannik choose to spend their vacations traveling to the far corners of the world to operate on poor patients suffering from cataracts. It is a very concrete example of how individual doctors can make a big difference in the health inequality that unfortunately exists in the world,” says Camilla Noelle Rathcke, President of the Danish Medical Association.

This year’s award winners can, with a simple operation, improve the living conditions of an entire family by restoring sight to a blind family member. The eye surgeons have helped more than 2,000 patients in the poorest parts of the world.

In addition, through stays at foreign institutions, the Boberg-Ans have also learned a surgical technique that is compatible with surgery under more primitive conditions, as well as techniques that can be used for severe cases of cataracts. This has also benefited their Danish patients.

“The Boberg-Ans couple are an example of doctors who diligently, humbly and outside the traditional framework of the medical profession make a difference for many people in the world’s poor countries. It is a unique effort that deserves the recognition of their colleagues,” says Camilla Noelle Rathcke.

The Medical Association’s Honorary Award comes with DKK 35,000.