Orbis Announces Three-Year Partnership with HOYA Vision Care

Over the next three years, HOYA’s generous contribution will enable us to screen more than 500,000 children and provide more than 15,000 eyeglasses as part of the REACH (Refractive Error Among Children) program in India. REACH aims to reduce visual impairment due to uncorrected refractive error (a vision problem that makes it hard to see clearly) among school-going children and provide a sustainable solution to a shortage of care for this issue.

Orbis develops eye care teams and supports them with digital and clinical equipment to perform screenings and provide spectacles. The teams also provide referrals for children who require further examination and treatment to one of our partner hospitals or to the nearest vision center.

“A simple pair of spectacles is often all it takes to open a world of opportunities to someone,” said Dr. Rishi Raj Borah, Country Director, Orbis India. “Our partnership with HOYA Vision Care has been instrumental in bringing eye health services within children's reach and enabling them to realize their potential. We are excited to continue this partnership to further expand our outreach and impact, and touch many more lives over the next few years."

India is home to the largest number of blind children in any one country and to 9.3 million children with visual impairment. Considering the majority of vision impairment is completely avoidable, the REACH program is instrumental in helping children see, and has great potential outside of India, too.

HOYA Vision Care will also work to support vision centers in India, which make eye care accessible in rural communities. Vision centers are eye health clinics that are strategically located in communities that do not have easy access to other eye health facilities. Vision centers offer affordably priced care for low-income families, and free care for those who cannot pay. HOYA’s support will directly impact four vision centers and the three partner hospitals associated with them. HOYA also plans to support further expansion of vision centers in the future.

HOYA Vision Care’s partnership will also benefit Cybersight, our award-winning telemedicine and e-learning platform. Cybersight gives eye care professionals in areas with the greatest need free virtual access to training, knowledge, and other resources to better help their patients. HOYA’s contribution to Cybersight will focus on myopia (nearsightedness) and help to reach thousands of eye health professionals in areas with a high prevalence of myopia, such as China and parts of Southeast Asia, with the skills they need to provide quality care to their patients.

HOYA Vision Care has partnered with Orbis since 2021 and was a key player in the REACH team’s ability to pivot to a new and innovative door-to-door screening model when schools were closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We would like to say a huge thank you to HOYA Vision Care for their support and are excited to continue this partnership as we expand to new communities to ensure everyone, everywhere has access to quality eye care.