Orbis International

Next stop, Mongolia! The Flying Eye Hospital will be taking flight this August for a three-week training program in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. From August 4-22, eye care teams from around Mongolia will gather in the country’s capital to hone their skills to treat blinding conditions like cataracts and strabismus. Hands-on surgical training from expert Volunteer Faculty will equip these doctors with the skills they need to save sight in their communities. Stay tuned for more updates on this exciting program! https://lnkd.in/egbpYmKz

#ThrowbackThursday time! Since we’re only weeks away from our Flying Eye Hospital’s return to Mongolia, we wanted to share some wonderful memories from when our plane was last in the country. In 2018, our Volunteer Faculty and clinical staff teams worked shoulder to shoulder with eye care partners to improve the skills and expertise of local teams during a successful three-week training project—building brighter futures for Mongolian communities. Keep your eyes peeled for more exciting news to come soon...

Our teams recently attended IN SIGHT LIVE Mexico to help build connections with others in the eye global eye care community. Here are some highlights from the second day of the conference. International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) #2030InSight #globalhealth #eyecare #eyehealth #visioncare #ophthalmology

At Orbis, we know the best way to improve eye care is by sharing skills... And so do these Canadian ophthalmologists. They are practicing a different cataract technique that is no longer taught in Canada, specifically so they can support communities in other parts of the world and help improve eye care there. Facilitated by our wonderful Dr. Maria Jose Montero Romero Associate Director of Clinical Services for the Flying Eye Hospital, the training sessions were led and coordinated at the 2024 Canadian Ophthalmological Society Annual Conference and will enable these ophthalmologists to improve training in areas where access to cataract surgery is poor. Cataracts, which lead to blurred vision and eventual blindness, are a leading cause of blindness globally. Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery (MSICS) is a viable alternative to phacoemulsification (modern cataract removal) and is an effective surgical procedure for patients in low-resource settings. A big thank you to the trainers and ophthalmologists for dedicating their time to improving skills worldwide! Photo credit: Canadian Ophthalmological Society I Société canadienne d'ophtalmologie

Happy 4th of July to the Orbis community! Here's a short clip of our Flying Eye Hospital taking off from San Bernadino, CA, to celebrate. This holiday weekend, we’d like to remind you how much we appreciate you. It’s a time to reflect and to thank you for your support. We may not all have been born or live here in the United States, but we are all united by a common purpose: believing in a world where everyone has access to the eyecare they need to thrive. Thank you also goes to our U.S. Volunteer Faculty members who travel the world sharing their skills and knowledge. And we are thankful for FedEx and their employees, who donated our current Flying Eye Hospital and whose pilots fly our team around the world—and Alcon, who donates state-of-the-art ophthalmic equipment, pharmaceuticals and supplies for the plane and partner hospitals. Your belief in our mission is the foundation upon which we build a better future globally. Together, we can create lasting change.

Exciting news! A five-day training project to improve the skills of local eye care professionals in treating glaucoma has kicked off in Trujillo, Peru. Despite being the second leading cause of blindness in the country, there is a lack of knowledge and skills for treating the disease. Held at the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology, the training builds on our long-term partnership where we have been working together to improve eye care in Peru for more than four decades. Thank you to all involved for supporting the project and improving access to quality eye care in Peru. Find out more...

More than 40 years ago, Greenwich residents—including the late Tom Knight, Betsy Trippe Wainwright, and Al Ueltschi—and Dr. David Paton began meeting to launch a plane-based hospital that could reach all corners of the world, delivering cutting-edge training to eye doctors in underserved communities. From this, Orbis International was born. To renew, expand, and celebrate the relationship between Orbis and Greenwich, members of the community were invited to an event on Thursday, May 9, at the Round Hill Club. The event was co-hosted by Langdon and Lyn Cook, Jim and Alison Knight, & Bizzie and Leighton Welch. In total, more than 75 Greenwich residents came to the event to learn about our work to help improve eye care around the world. Read more below: https://lnkd.in/ehG5JAr4

The Orbis team had a fantastic final day at International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) #2030INSIGHT LIVE Mexico. Ha and Angel gave their "Rapid Fire" presentations to a packed audience, sharing lessons learned from projects in Vietnam and Peru. There was lots of interest in the team's poster presentations and plenty of opportunities to engage with potential project partners in the 'marketplace' room. There was live music from an authentic Mariachi band to close out the ceremony followed by a speech from the Minister of Health of Nepal, the hosts of next year's INSIGHT LIVE event. A huge thank you to the Orbis team for all their hard work this week, and also to the many other delegates from the eye care community—together we can change the way the world sees.

It was a productive day one for the Orbis team at International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) #2030InSight Mexico! Our team engaged in valuable discussions about making eye care accessible for all by 2030 alongside some of the best minds in the global eye health community. We also shared insights with attendees such as ensuring eye care for displaced populations and promoting women in ophthalmology to boost delivery of eye care services.  Stay tuned for more news from day two... 

The Orbis team arrived at #INSIGHTLIVE 2030 Mexico yesterday! 👏 This morning, Jennifer D. Tapia Boada Project Coordinator for Orbis International in Latin America and the Caribbean, joined a panel of experts to share insights on gender equity in eye health. It was excellent to see the room PACKED with nearly 100 delegates squeezing into the 73 capacity room. The team is excited to get stuck into today's schedule. Stay tuned for more updates coming soon.