According to the World Health Organization, 37 million people worldwide are blind — yet 28 million of them don’t have to be. Their blindness could have been prevented, or their eyesight restored, if only they’d had access to proper eye care.

ORBIS International, a nonprofit humanitarian organization, strives to eliminate avoidable blindness and restore sight in developing countries. ORBIS has permanent offices dedicated to preventing blindness in Africa,  China,  India, Bangladesh and  Vietnam.

ORBIS also conducts regional work on blindness prevention and treatment in Latin America and the Caribbean.

ORBIS sponsors short-term, hospital-based projects in developing countries around the world and delivers ophthalmic training and patient care through its one-of-a-kind Flying Eye Hospital.

The challenge for ORBIS is to ensure that the skills and technology required for blindness prevention and sight restoration are available in those countries most in need. Ninety percent of the world’s blind live in developing countries, where barriers such as poverty and poor infrastructure hinder the development of adequate eye care facilities. ORBIS works closely with local communities, governments and hospitals to design programs that increase local skills, improve health care facilities and foster awareness of eye health in developing countries.

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Flying Eye Hospital: A unique contribution to eye care

At the heart of ORBIS is the world’s only Flying Eye Hospital, a DC-10 wide-body aircraft converted into an innovative teaching facility and ophthalmic surgical center.

The ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital and its international medical team have conducted treatment and training programs in more than 75 countries since 1982. Many of the world’s leading surgeons donate their time to perform surgery and teach aboard the aircraft in programs specifically designed to suit the needs of host countries.

ORBIS offices in developing countries provide long-term assistance

While the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital and its team continue to provide vital surgical training around the world, ORBIS has created permanent offices in Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, India and Vietnam. Ongoing programs in these countries focus on adult and pediatric ophthalmology and blindness caused by cataract, trachoma and corneal disease. Country offices are run by local health professionals who are responsible for developing comprehensive and integrated approaches to improve the quality and accessibility of local eye care services.

Key strategies include:

• Training eye care professionals
• Advancing pediatric ophthalmology
• Strengthening eye care institutions, such as hospitals, medical schools and eye banks
• Introducing health financing systems
• Providing ophthalmic equipment and related management systems
• Advocating national and global policies related to ophthalmic care
• Increasing public awareness that blindness prevention is possible in many instances.

Developing countries without permanent offices also receive care

In developing countries where ORBIS doesn't have comprehensive year-round programs, many of the same training and educational tools that have proven successful in the permanent country offices are made available. Lasting one to three weeks each, individually tailored ORBIS hospital-based training programs include the provision of surgical, nursing and biomedical engineering training as well as assistance in the establishment of eye care programs.

Cyber-Sight: Global consultation on patient cases

Harnessing the extraordinary reach of the Internet, ORBIS has continued its tradition of using innovative technology by establishing Cyber-Sight®, a unique telemedicine initiative. With Cyber-Sight, teams of volunteer ophthalmologists, often leaders in their field, provide educational support and advice on patient evaluation to doctors in less-advantaged countries. As of August 2007, more than 3,300 such "e-consultations" have been conducted.

Volunteers: The backbone of ORBIS International

Since 1982, ORBIS has created a global network of dedicated volunteers united in a common purpose: the elimination of preventable blindness and the lifelong preservation of sight for all people. Volunteers are a crucial part of ORBIS. Volunteers include more than 400 leading medical professionals, many of whom work for the most renowned eye care institutions in the world, as well as a rotating team of volunteer pilots from FedEx and United Airlines.

To date, more than 4.4 million people have received direct medical treatment and more than 154,000 health care professionals have enhanced their skills through ORBIS programs in 85 countries. Most importantly, it is now estimated that countless millions of children and adults have benefited from ORBIS programs worldwide as a result of the training provided by ORBIS full-time staff and volunteer medical faculty, then shared among colleagues and passed on to patients.

You can help

As a nonprofit, every service ORBIS provides is entirely free of charge to both host countries and patients. Obtaining sufficient financial and gift-in-kind donations from individuals, corporations and foundations is a constant need. ORBIS is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. In the time that it has taken you to read this, one more child somewhere in the world will have needlessly lost his or her sight. The scale of our challenge is enormous, so please help us by donating today.