Training is at the very heart of everything we do. With your support and the help of our world-leading Volunteer Faculty, we provide training to all types of healthcare workers - from doctors and nurses in regional hospitals to district leaders and teachers in remote areas.
WHAT WE DO
With your help, we can ensure everyone has access to quality eye care, no matter where they live.
Passing on Skills and Knowledge
A training during the Flying Eye Hospital 2015 in Hue, Vietnam (Photo credit: Geoff Oliver Bugbee/Orbis).
Our specialist training is delivered in partnership with local hospitals, public health agencies and governments. It takes place on board our incredible Flying Eye Hospital, through our online mentoring platform, Cybersight, and through our long-term country programs. It is made possible thanks to the generosity of our remarkable volunteer ophthalmologists, anesthesiologists, nurses and biomedical engineers who give up their free time every year to train eye teams in communities around the world.
Our Comprehensive Approach
We bring people together in the fight against avoidable blindness. We know we can't do it all on our own so we work with partners to evaluate the specific needs of each region, help develop a tailored plan to restore sight and put in place a long-term eye health strategy.
We educate communities about eye health, and with the help of key partners, distribute vital antibiotics to treat and prevent serious eye conditions. We provide crucial eye health information via radio broadcasts, film screenings and educational materials.
We establish permanent presences or long-term country programs, and build the capacity of health systems to improve access to quality eye care. We train all types of workers across all levels of the health system - not just ophthalmologists and nurses, but leadership and governance - to help improve the long term quality of patient care.
The restoration of sight is one of the most effective and cost-efficient ways to reverse the cycle of poverty for individuals and their families, according to the World Bank and World Health Organization. Orbis is doing this through ensuring the provision of quality eye care.
Find out more about how we work and some of the amazing things your support goes towards.
Retinopathy of Prematurity
Retinopathy of prematurity is an eye disease that can happen in premature newborns. It causes abnormal blood vessels to grow in the retina, and might lead to blindness if early interventions are not performed.
Vision Centers
Limited optometry human resource has challenged the country from providing comprehensive eye care services, especially for those living with uncorrected refractive error.
Diabetic Retinopathy
Diabetic retinopathy is an eye problem that can cause blindness. It occurs when high blood sugar damages small blood vessels in the back of the eye, called the retina. All people with diabetes are at risk for this problem.
Flying Eye Hospital
The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital is unlike any plane you’ve seen before. A state-of-the-art teaching facility complete with operating room, classroom and recovery room - this amazing aircraft has been an example of the marriage between medicine and aviation since 1982.
Teaching & Training
Our long-term teaching and training programs form the backbone of our work. By sharing skills with local eye teams we can improve the quality of eye care available for generations to come.
Vietnam National Institue of Opthalmology
Over the past decade, Orbis has been fortunate to collaborate with Vietnam National Institute of Ophthalmology.
Vision for our children
Almost 3 million children in Vietnam are have a visual impairment. Around 1.7 million of those have an uncorrected refractive error, meaning a simple pair of glasses would restore their vision. With the majority of these children living in rural areas we focused our efforts on the provinces of Binh Dinh, Thua Thien – Hue, Can Tho and Ca Mau.
Diabetic Retinopathy
Diabetic retinopathy is an eye problem that can cause blindness. It occurs when high blood sugar damages small blood vessels in the back of the eye, called the retina. All people with diabetes are at risk for this problem.
Flying Eye Hospital
The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital is unlike any plane you’ve seen before. A state-of-the-art teaching facility complete with operating room, classroom and recovery room - this amazing aircraft has been an example of the marriage between medicine and aviation since 1982.
Teaching & Training
Our long-term teaching and training programs form the backbone of our work. By sharing skills with local eye teams we can improve the quality of eye care available for generations to come. Our comprehensive and sustainable programs include online courses, simulation training and hands on training from some of the best eye care workers in the world.
Cybersight
Cybersight is our award-winning telemedicine platform. Through Cybersight, our expert volunteers teach and support eye care teams around the world using the latest advancements in internet and mobile technologies.
Volunteer Faculty
Our world renowned Volunteer Faculty are the heartbeat of our training programs, both on the Flying Eye Hospital and in partner hospitals around the world. For more than 30 years the keystone of our work has been to teach and train eye teams to fight blindness on their own - we couldn't do it without their hard work and dedication.
Vietnam National Institute of Ophthalmology
Vietnam National Institute of Ophthalmology – Our leader partnership for child eye health.
Over the past decade, Orbis has been fortunate to collaborate with Vietnam National Institute of Ophthalmology. As the leading eye care institution in the country we have together made remarkable achievements, especially in child eye health.
Over the past decade, Orbis has been fortunate to collaborate with Vietnam National Institute of Ophthalmology. As the leading eye care institution in the country we have together made remarkable achievements, especially in child eye health.
Advocacy for Child Eye Health
Despite great efforts by Vietnam Government, gaps remain in the eye care system for children over the ages of six, who are not covered by the local Health Insurance Scheme. A call for policy change has been launched and upheld by Orbis.
