New Spanish-language Virtual Flying Eye Hospital project

Generously supported by our long-standing partner Alcon, the virtual training project - "Curso de Retinopatía de la Prematuridad" - consists of a webinar series focusing on multidisciplinary approaches to ROP, the leading cause of childhood blindness. The course will include panel discussions and live lectures and focus on an integrated care approach relevant to ophthalmologists, neonatologists, pediatricians, nurses, low-vision specialists, and more.

Each live session will be delivered by one of our amazing Orbis Volunteer Faculty and moderated by one of our Flying Eye Hospital staff members. The project will also serve as a platform to further the conversation around ROP in Latin America.

This course complements another Spanish-language online learning tool - "The Fundamentals of Retinopathy of Prematurity" - which was launched in English in 2020 and is currently being translated into Spanish. The Spanish version is scheduled for release in late summer 2021.

ROP is particularly prevalent in Latin America where more premature babies are surviving birth, but few hospitals have the skills and resources to deliver the care needed to prevent it. Read how the Orbis family is fighting the disease worldwide.

This Virtual Flying Eye Hospital training project is another example of how our teams can continue to train and teach valuable skills in hard-to-reach communities, even during a global pandemic.

Thanks to our history of technology and innovation, our amazing supporters and partners, and our teams of volunteers and medical staff – we have been able to continue the fight against avoidable blindness.

We’d like to say a big thank you to The Alcon Foundation. Without their support, the creation and development of the training course wouldn’t have been possible.

Alcon has been a generous supporter of Orbis for over forty years, donating state-of-the-art ophthalmic equipment, surgical products, pharmaceuticals and supplies for Orbis's Flying Eye Hospital and partner hospitals around the world. Alcon's expert biomedical engineers also participate in Orbis programs, sharing their skills and knowledge to help training participants learn to operate and maintain critical medical technology.

As a standing partner of Flying Eye Hospital projects around the globe, and now as the Exclusive Title Sponsor of the newly launched virtual Flying Eye Hospital project, Alcon’s continued support is playing a vital role in preventing avoidable blindness around the world.