World Sight Day 2022

Not long ago, we returned to in-person, hands-on training on our Flying Eye Hospital and in our partner hospitals for the first time since the pandemic began, so it's no surprise that this World Sight Day, we're excited to celebrate this unmistakable sign of hope in the fight against avoidable blindness and vision loss.

Around 338 million people globally live with blindness or moderate to severe visual impairment, but a staggering 77% of cases are completely avoidable, meaning they could be treated or prevented with the right care. At Orbis, we know the most effective way to tackle this challenge is to ensure eye care teams get the training necessary to provide quality care to patients. The opportunity for eye care professionals to learn from our clinical teams and Volunteer Faculty side by side, building skills that can help them save sight in their communities, is invaluable.

The setbacks of the pandemic threatened to slow our progress and meant we had to shift how we work. Thanks to our wonderful supporters, we overcame the odds to reach dozens of countries through virtual Flying Eye Hospital trainings and begin training more people than ever before through our telemedicine and e-learning platform, Cybersight.

Now, as we reintroduce in-person training programs, we have an opportunity to make a greater impact than ever—and, with your help, build an even more hopeful future in sight.

We’re taking everything we’ve learned about the power of virtual learning during the pandemic and incorporating it into in-person training models so that eye care teams can get the most out of their learning experiences.

Explore how invaluable hands-on and virtual training can be in transforming sight—and lives!

Our work is already underway.

This week, we're kicking off training for eye care professionals from throughout Latin America. Later this month, we will be launching a first-of-its-kind regional project, in which women eye care professionals from conflict-affected countries throughout the Middle East gather in Doha for training on the Flying Eye Hospital.

Volunteer Faculty members—Dr. Daniel Neely and Dr. Andrew Choyce—are traveling to Ethiopia now to train doctors in a local hospital to treat strabismus. The condition, which mainly affects children, causes the eyes to look in different directions when focusing and can have a permanent effect on vision if not detected and treated early.

Your support is making this work possible—and together we can do so much more. We’re already planning other in-person trainings in places where children and adults need vital care.

Help us get there by making a gift to Orbis today.