Orbis International

We love these adorable photos from an Orbis training project in Hawassa, Ethiopia, last year. The project was dedicated to helping treat strabismus (misalignment of the eyes), a major cause of childhood blindness and vision loss in children. Expert Volunteer Faculty Dr. Donal Brosnahan, Dr. Tony McAllen, Dr. Ghalib Mukadam, and Irma Casale guided local teams through 22 sight-saving surgeries — so they have the skills to treat their communities long after the project finished. Volunteer Faculty Dr. Ghalib Mukadam told us, “In the UK, strabismus surgeries are provided free of charge, but in Ethiopia, children who are unable to access the treatment they need, will live their whole lives with the condition. It’s so rewarding to see the patient positioned straight for the first time after their operation." Read more about this project below and learn how you can help save children's sight https://lnkd.in/ejNQPbmM

At Orbis, we know the only way to solve a problem as big as global blindness and vision loss is by utilizing the very latest technology and innovations. Thanks to your generous support in 2024, our telemedicine and eLearning platform, Orbis Cybersight, continued to grow at an astonishing pace. In 2024: -15,000 new members signed up to use Cybersight, bringing our total users to more than 100,000 in 215 countries. -3,000 cases were submitted to Cybersight Consult for expert guidance from 100 world-leading ophthalmologists, so patients can get the best possible care no matter where they live. -We launched our new artificial intelligence tool to quickly and effectively screen for eye diseases without the need for an expert grader. -We welcomed 22,000+ live webinar attendees, with speakers from 21 countries. -Our video library received 1.8 million views. We would like to say huge thank you to our supporters who, like us, believe in innovating to solve problems. With your support, we promise to continue pushing boundaries and leading from the front of eye health innovation. Thanks for being with us every step of the way.

For this #ThrowbackThursday we’re going back to a 2019 #FlyingEyeHospital project in Ghana where aviation fanatic and Youtuber, Sam Chui, takes a trip on our ground breaking aircraft. Sam donated all proceeds from this video to our sight-saving programs too. What a legend! https://lnkd.in/dF-5tWa

“You have shown me the light!” - Minoti, tea garden worker A new project has brought essential eye care to a community of tea garden workers in Bangladesh. Meet Minoti, a tea worker whose vision was deteriorating and discover how our supporters and partners helped improve her vision and her earnings. https://lnkd.in/ekRypMW4

This is Orbis Cybersight AI, a cutting-edge artificial intelligence tool designed to detect diabetic retinopathy and other common eye diseases quickly and efficiently. Early diagnosis is critical to prevent permanent vision loss or blindness, and AI screening allows for immediate results without the need for an expert grader – revolutionizing eye care in low- and middle-income countries. We launched our Vietnam AI project in July last year and are thrilled to report that we’ve already screened more than 5,000 people living with diabetes using Cybersight AI. We’d like to say a huge thank you to NIDEK Global for the donation of six specialized cameras, our Cybersight and Vietnam teams for their hard work and dedication, and our supporters for making all of this possible.

#ThrowbackThursday to week two of our most recent #FlyingEyeHospital project in Bangladesh in November 2024. The pictures were taken on screening day at our partner hospital, Chittagong Eye Infirmary and Training Complex, and feature superstar Volunteer Faculty Dr. Manish Raval, Dr. Harsha Reddy, Dr. Beth Edmunds, Dr. Maria H Berrocal MD, and Dr. Lawrence Azevedo. A big thank you to our expert volunteers for giving up their free time to improve access to quality eye care in Bangladesh. And, as always, a big thanks to our supporters for making this all possible.

#HeroesofOrbis Meet eye health hero Aster, an Orbis-trained Integrated Eye Health Worker from Ethiopia, who is dedicated to helping people lead brighter lives. In Aster’s community, trachoma, a neglected tropical disease, threatens sight, causing pain and discomfort. Left untreated, the condition can advance into trachomatous trichiasis and eventually irreversible blindness. Aster’s role in delivering trachoma care is vital. She sees herself as a “change agent” and recognizes the huge responsibility she has whether it be educating and changing hygiene habits, screening patients, or providing treatment to tackle the disease. For her “helping people is a hobby” that was born in childhood. She was trained by Orbis seven years ago and has performed an amazing 200 trachomatous trichiasis surgeries to save sight and improve lives. She tells us: “It is crucial for us to eliminate trachoma because this condition harms education, work, and the enjoyment of life. It must be a priority for all of us working in health and wider society. By eliminating trachoma, we can allow people to live to their full potential and be as productive as they can be.” A big thank you to Aster for her dedication and compassion to serving her community. And another thanks to our wonderful supporters who help empower people like Aster to give her community the eye care it needs to thrive.

The green hills of Bangladesh are home to over 150 commercial tea estates, including some of the largest active tea plantations in the world. The hard-working tea garden workers receive low wages and face poverty and a lack of access to quality health care. Thanks to Orbis supporters, we recently teamed up with local eye care partner, Nayan, to address the eye health needs of workers and their families in Sylhet, one of the country’s traditional tea-growing areas. Find out more about this ground-breaking project: https://lnkd.in/eGR2yTQW

As we begin 2025, we want to take a moment to look back at some of the ways Orbis supporters helped transform lives in 2024. Thanks to your support, our Flying Eye Hospital landed in Mongolia and Bangladesh, where our Volunteer Faculty trained nearly 800 eye care professionals. Thirty-four more training projects took place in local hospitals in low-income countries, setting up communities for generations of world-class care. In Ethiopia, the Orbis community helped distribute more than 6 million doses of vision-saving antibiotics and conduct nearly 10,000 trachomatous trichiasis surgeries. That’s a lot of healthy eyes! You also helped us celebrate our award-winning telemedicine and eLearning tool, Cybersight, surpassing 100,000 registered users. Moving into 2025, we’re excited to continue innovating through projects like our AI eye screening in Vietnam and our newest VR surgical training solution. We’re also looking forward to taking the Flying Eye Hospital to Ghana and Rwanda—stay tuned for more info! Thanks again for making 2024 such an impactful year. We can’t wait to help more people access life-changing eye care in 2025.

A big thank you to the Orbis community for all your support in 2024! Your kindness helped save countless grandparents, parents, children, and even babies from treatable and preventable vision loss. On behalf of all the people helped, thank you. Thanks to the Orbis community, we will continue our mission of saving sight in 2025 by: * Helping communities in 200 countries and territories by providing best-in-class surgical training and mentorship in local hospitals, via Cybersight, and on board the Flying Eye Hospital. * Treating underserved communities through patient-focused care throughout the world. * Delivering eye care to where it's needed through local vision centers and community outreach projects. * Providing even more sight-saving medications to those in need. Together, we will help millions around the world with sight-saving care. Happy New Year from everyone at Orbis.