Orbis has been partnering with the Zambian Ministry of Health since 2010 to build capacity within the overburdened and under-resourced healthcare system. Orbis International: Zambia, a branch of Orbis International, was established in 2017 to support our work nationally.
In North-Western Province, Orbis works across all levels of eye health throughout the province’s eight districts, with a focus on increasing the cataract surgical rate and implementing trachoma control and prevention in areas with prevalence above 10%. Seeing is Believing, a Standard Chartered Bank initiative, initially funded the programme for five years. Thanks to your help and support we have helped increase the cataract surgical rate from 446 to 1,686 in the North-Western Province. We've also launched short films aimed at improved community awareness and engagement on eye health issues.
Our partnership with Kitwe Central Hospital led to the opening of a pediatric eye care center to provide specialized treatment and services for children with complex sight problems. As the only facility in the country that is appropriately equipped and staffed for pediatric eye care, Kitwe Eye Annexe, has become a referral point for the whole country and beyond.
The Human Resources for Eye Health (HReH) project at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Lusaka has shown significant success. The project focuses on building the institutional capacity of UTH to train high quality eye health workers and ensure competent and highly skilled faculty.
In addition, Orbis secured funding from Sightsavers in 2017 to implement mass drug administration for trachoma in the Kitwe district.
In 2019 alone, we delivered:
