Orbis’s long-term blindness prevention work in low and middle-income countries are heavily reliant on regular monthly donations. This generous support helps us to plan and implement multi-year projects that are aimed at ensuring that quality eye care is available and affordable for all.
In CHINA, we are focusing our efforts in lowering the price of eye care services for the poor by investing in training of doctors, medical equipment, and introducing multi-tier price structures, so that the poor have access to, and choice of sight-saving treatments.
The ongoing projects in ETHIOPIA, including trachoma prevention, support to the local main hospital, including biomedical engineering and eye banking, and the strengthening of rural eye care delivery.
In VIETNAM, only 10 ophthalmologists are available for every 1 million Vietnamese, with most practicing in large cities. Orbis’ work concentrates on areas including pediatric ophthalmology (especially in ROP skills), diagnosis and treatment of corneal disease, eye banking, corneal donation and the increase of rural communities' access to comprehensive eye care services.
INDIA shoulders the world's largest burden of blindness. Of a total population exceeding one billion, as many as 15 million people are blind, with an additional 52 million visually impaired. In India, Orbis focuses on building the local capacity in diagnosing and treating childhood blindness, corneal disease, eye banking and diabetic retinopathy.
In BANGLADESH, we focused on building the already established childhood blindness and optometry training capacity in the country and in making eye care services affordable to the urban poor by including eye care in community-based mutual insurance schemes.