Orbis Flying Eye Hospital takes flight — next stop Mongolia!

Following our ophthalmic training project in Lusaka, Zambia, last year, the Flying Eye Hospital is traveling to Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. On board our one-of-a-kind aircraft, which includes a state-of-the-art medical teaching facility with an operating room, classroom, and recovery room, eye health professionals from around Mongolia will improve their surgical skills so more people can access quality eye care.

This Flying Eye Hospital program will strengthen eye health in Mongolia and focus on improving adult and pediatric care throughout the country, where one in six school children is visually impaired and only 13% of ophthalmologists can perform high quality refraction and prescribe glasses.

Support for this crucial ophthalmic training project comes from Title Sponsors the Alcon Foundation, FedEx, and OMEGA. A huge thank you to these three eye care partners for making this project possible.

Taking place over three weeks, the project will include training sessions and workshops led by Orbis’s expert staff and Volunteer Faculty. Along with training held on board the Flying Eye Hospital, additional activities will take place at two local partner hospitals, National Center for Maternal and Child Health (NCMCH) and Third Central Hospital. Surgical simulation training will also be provided for ophthalmologists, nurses, and anesthesiologists, helping to boost confidence and improve patient outcomes.

The second and third weeks of the project will include live surgical training focusing on eye care subspecialties, such as pediatric oculoplastics, pediatric strabismus, pediatric cataracts, surgical retina, and adult glaucoma. Additionally, a cataract surgical expert Volunteer Faculty from Alcon will lead a workshop in phacoemulsification development (a modern type of cataract surgery using an ultrasound probe to fragment the lens), helping increase the cataract surgical rate in Mongolia, which has one of the lowest rates in Asia.

This Flying Eye Hospital project will deliver essential training that equips local doctors with the expertise required to treat vision-threatening conditions now and for generations to come

None of this sight-saving work would be possible without the help of caring Orbis supporters and project Title Sponsors, OMEGA Watches, FedEx, and the Alcon Foundation! A big thank you to everyone involved in this exciting project. Stay tuned for more news coming soon.

In Mongolia, access to quality-eye care is scarce. Currently, 90% of all cataract surgeries are performed in the capital city, Ulaanbaatar. That’s why since 1989 we’ve been working hard to ensure treatment is available in the country — and thanks to your support we’re making significant progress.

Last year alone, we trained more than 940 eye care professionals to save sight. We also saw more than 31,000 patient visits to health facilities for eye care and screened nearly 11,000 people through community outreach programs.

With our next Flying Eye Hospital project and ongoing work in Mongolia we are committed to preventing eye diseases and training doctors throughout the country. By building partnerships with local hospitals, improving the capacity of neonatal intensive care units, and increasing access to vital equipment, we’re helping more people than ever get access to the quality eye care they deserve.

Since 2021, we’ve established or renovated 10 neonatal intensive care units, so even the most vulnerable children can regain their sight. We’ve also supported the establishment of four secondary hospitals, three tertiary hospitals, and one wet lab, all of which help increase access to care. Through these initiatives, we’ve helped increase the pediatric cataract surgery rate at the NCMCH from 20 cases/year to 100 cases/year. And we will continue to identify gaps in eye care services in Mongolia to ensure that treatment can be delivered to children and adults who need it most.