Orbis joins Bloomberg Philanthropies’ $75m vision initiative

This groundbreaking effort will bring critical services to millions of people who need them most, with a goal of delivering 11.5m vision screenings, nearly seven million pairs of glasses, and performing 250,000 cataract surgeries.

At Orbis, we are honored to be part of this coalition of eye care leaders, and we celebrate our fellow grantees who are bringing their expertise and passion to the program. Together, we are working toward a world where everyone, everywhere, can access quality eye care.

Cataracts are the leading cause of preventable blindness worldwide, accounting for around 40% of global blindness. In Bangladesh, too many people, especially women and those living in poverty, still lack access to cataract screening and surgery. 

With the support of Bloomberg Philanthropies, Orbis will work with 20–25 partner hospitals and organizations across Bangladesh to scale up cataract screening, referral, surgery, and follow-up care. Our program will cover at least 50 of the country’s 64 districts, reaching communities in all eight divisions.

Over the next two years, Orbis and our partners will: 

Expand access to surgery: Provide 100,000 cataract surgeries across 25 hospitals, while also screening 1 million people through 5,000 outreach programs. 

Strengthen local capacity: Train more than 50 ophthalmologists in advanced surgical techniques, 25 nurses in operating theater management, and 1,100 staff in primary eye care and patient referral.

Raise awareness: Launch community outreach programs and distribute over 400,000 educational materials to increase awareness about cataracts and encourage people to seek care. 

Support women and underserved groups: Organize awareness campaigns around International Women’s Day and World Sight Day to reduce gender and income barriers to care.

Invest in quality improvement: Provide partner hospitals with modern medical equipment, implement Orbis’s BOOST tool to improve surgical outcomes, and train staff in data management and monitoring. 

Learn and share impact: Carry out baseline and endline evaluations, patient satisfaction surveys, and research on the links between cataract surgery, poverty alleviation, and quality of life.

For years, 67-year-old Ratan lived in near darkness in her small home on the coast of Lakshmipur district. With cataracts in both eyes and no money for treatment, she could no longer cook, sew, or even recognize her loved ones. 

Everything changed when a community health worker trained by Orbis visited her home and referred her to a local outreach camp. From there, Ratan was taken through the referral pathway to Mazharul Haque BNSB Eye Hospital, one of our partner hospitals, where she finally received the surgery she needed. 

Ratan’s doctor told us: “Ratan came to us almost blind. We reassured her that she would not have to pay, and that the surgery would restore her sight. When we removed her bandages and asked her to count fingers, she said ‘Five!’ with a smile. That moment was priceless.” 

Ratan’s story is a familiar one—thousands of men and women in rural Bangladesh live with blindness and vision loss from cataracts simply because they cannot access the care they need. 

With this new initiative, many more lives like Ratan’s will be transformed.