Training is at the very heart of everything we do. With your support and the help of our world-leading expert volunteers, we provide training to all types of healthcare workers – from doctors and nurses in regional hospitals to district leaders and teachers in remote areas.
What we do
With your help, we can ensure everyone has access to quality eye care, no matter where they live.
Passing on Skills and Knowledge
Volunteer Dr. Daniel Neely shows how to screen a young patient using a toy (Photo credit: Geoff Oliver Bugbee/Orbis)
Our specialist training is delivered in partnership with local hospitals, public health agencies and governments. It takes place on board our incredible Flying Eye Hospital, through our online mentoring platform, Cybersight, and through our long-term country programmes. It is made possible thanks to the generosity of our remarkable volunteer ophthalmologists, anaesthetists, nurses and biomedical engineers who give up their free time every year to train eye teams in communities around the world.
Our Comprehensive Approach
We offer a comprehensive approach to eye care using the best tools and resources available
We bring people together in the fight against avoidable blindness. We know we can't do it all on our own so we work with partners to evaluate the specific needs of each region, develop a tailored plan to restore sight and put in place a long-term eye health strategy.
We educate communities about eye health. With the help of key partners, we distribute vital antibiotics to treat and prevent serious eye conditions. We provide crucial eye health information via radio broadcasts, film screenings and educational materials.
In India and Bangladesh, for example, through funding from the Qatar Fund for Development, we established an eye health initiative called Qatar Creating Vision. Since 2016, we have been conducting comprehensive school eye screening programmes, educating the community on eye health and improving eye care services, and as a result, hundreds of thousands of children can see clearly again.
In Ethiopia, we help implement the World Health Organisation's SAFE strategy alongside partners such as the UK Department for International Development, international eye care NGOs and the Ministry of Health to help eliminate trachoma, a painful, contagious and blinding disease.
Providing Zithromax antibiotics to help eliminate trachoma in Ethiopia (Photo credit: Geoff Oliver Bugbee)
We establish long-term country programmes and build the capacity of health systems to improve access to quality eye care. We train all types of workers across all levels of the health system – not just ophthalmologists and nurses, but primary health workers and community volunteers. We also work with hospitals to improve leadership and governance in order to help improve the long-term quality of patient care.
Our comprehensive approach in action.
Despite the additional barriers presented by a global pandemic, more than 29,000 trainings were completed by doctors, nurses and other eye care workers throughout 2020 alone.
The restoration of sight is one of the most effective and cost-efficient ways to reverse the cycle of poverty for individuals and their families, according to the World Bank and World Health Organisation. Orbis is doing this through ensuring the provision of quality eye care.
The Highlights
The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital
The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital is unlike any plane you’ve seen before. A state-of-the-art teaching facility complete with operating room, classroom and recovery room - this amazing aircraft has been a beacon of hope since 1982.
Qatar Creating Vision
Qatar Creating Vision is an eye health initiative funded by the Qatar Fund for Development and implemented by Orbis. In 2016, a four year programme was launched to reduce childhood blindness across India and Bangladesh, and was expanded to support refugees in Cox's Bazar. In 2022, phase two of the initiative was launched in Ethiopia
Expert volunteers
Our world renowned expert volunteers are the heartbeat of our training programmes. For more than 30 years, our goal has been to share the skills and knowledge they have built to help prevent avoidable blindness around the world.
Cybersight
Cybersight is our award-winning tele-medicine platform. Through Cybersight, our expert volunteers teach and support eye care teams around the world using the latest advancements in internet and mobile technologies.
Community outreach
We want to make sure everyone has access to quality eye care, no matter where they live. This is why, as well as strengthening and equipping local hospitals, we work at a community level, training and educating people about eye health to ensure even the most remote areas receive the best possible treatment.
Technology and innovation in eye care
With global blindness set to reach 60 million by 2050, we need to reverse the trend before it’s too late. The old way simply isn’t working. We need to keep pushing boundaries and lead from the front of eye health innovation now, if we’re going to help ensure a brighter tomorrow.
Partnerships and collaborations
At Orbis we know the only path to a better tomorrow is by working together to create a sustainable, prosperous future for all. The power of one may be strong, but the power of many is far stronger.
Blindness Gender Inequality - Women & Girls
Blindness is a gender issue: globally there are 112 million more women than men living with vision loss, including blindness. Below, we explore the reasons behind this injustice and profile some of the women who are doing something about it. After all, a brighter future for women is a brighter future for the planet.
Country Programmes
By working with partners across the health service to establish and strengthen existing care we help provide long-term, sustainable eye care to communities around the world. From rural areas to bustling cities, we aim to provide the tools and knowledge to help restore vision for generations to come.
Vietnamese patient Huong Le Thi Thanh post retinal surgery
Medical volunteer opportunities
Orbis’s comprehensive global network of volunteer medical professionals provide ophthalmic education and instruction to eye care teams in low-resourced countries around the globe to increase their skills, improve service delivery and the quality of patient care.
