We'd like to say a big thank you to our corporate partners, Volunteer Faculty, volunteer pilots, and our generous supporters for giving so many adults and children the vision to thrive in 2023.
The Vision to Thrive
Annual Report 2023
Our Vision
A world where everyone can access the eye care they need to thrive
Our Mission
Orbis builds strong and sustainable eye care systems globally that put treatment and prevention within reach.
Dear Friends,
This past year was an exciting one for Orbis, with lots of activity in eye care training, treatment, and prevention, as well as technological advancement.
In these pages, you'll read about our progress in establishing strong and sustainable eye care systems around the world, and you’ll meet practitioners providing essential care and patients whose lives have been transformed.
Our training programs, a pillar of our mission, flourished this past year around the globe as we fully embraced our blended learning model, which combines in-person and virtual training. Orbis led specialized training projects in 19 local hospitals in Bangladesh, China, India, Mongolia, Peru, Vietnam, and Zambia so that eye care teams could build their skills in their daily work environment. We also offered fellowships that combined the best of hands-on training with online learning to help educate ophthalmologists in low- and middle-income countries.
We celebrated the 20th anniversary of Cybersight, Orbis’s telemedicine and e-learning platform, which now has more than 91,000 registered eye care professionals from nearly every country and territory in the world. We also launched a Cybersight mobile app that provides even easier access to the platform’s services, including in areas without a reliable internet connection.
The Flying Eye Hospital conducted in-person training projects in Vietnam and Zambia, and a virtual training in Chile. We also began treating patients again on the Flying Eye Hospital after a long pandemic-related hiatus. In this report, you’ll meet Kiet from Vietnam and Rhoda from Zambia, some of the first patients to undergo surgery on the plane this year.
2023 marked a milestone for Orbis in Ethiopia. This year, we delivered the 100-millionth dose of the antibiotic azithromycin there in our effort to rid the country of trachoma, an infectious disease that can cause blindness. You’ll meet six-year-old Hizkiel, who received the dose in a special ceremony. Interventions like this, which prevent vision loss, are critical.
We have also been supporting access to artificial intelligence (AI)-powered technologies to improve the care experience for both patients and providers. You will read the story of Rwandan Dr. Raban Susabimana and his patient Esther, who both benefited from the pioneering use of AI in screening for diabetic retinopathy. This year, Orbis experts conducted and published research demonstrating the effectiveness of AI-based tools for assisting in the diagnosis and treatment of eye diseases that can cause blindness and vision loss.
Your support is crucial in helping Orbis continue our steadfast progress toward realizing our ambitious goals and hope for the future: the vision to thrive.
Warmest wishes,
Derek Hodkey
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Orbis is driven by an inspiring vision: a world where everyone can access the eye care they need to thrive.
This vision is purposely broad because vision itself is all-encompassing. We know that saving or restoring sight has positive effects that ripple on and on—for the person, for their family, and for their community at large. It is not simply a chance for someone to see the world clearly, but also the opening up of potential and possibilities—to return to work or school, to end a cycle of poverty, to engage in one’s community, to lead a purposeful life—and, in some cases, can even make the difference between life and death.
To achieve this vision, there is still much to do, and Orbis’s work is as urgent as it has ever been. Currently, around 1.1 billion people across the globe live with avoidable blindness and vision loss. That figure is on track to climb to 1.7 billion by 2050 without major investments in eye care globally.
To help reverse that trend, Orbis is focusing on building strong and sustainable eye care systems that cover the full range of services, from educating people about eye health to identifying eye health conditions in the community to providing training to those who, in turn, will provide treatment to those who need it. Creating such systems calls for systemic change, so Orbis drives transformation across four areas: training, technology, treatment and prevention, and teamwork.
Orbis trains eye care teams—from developing local residents to be eye health workers in rural clinics to eye surgeons in urban centers—so they can save and restore vision in their communities. Why? Because one of the greatest challenges in global ophthalmology is the lack of an adequately trained workforce, particularly to provide eye health care in underserved areas. By training local residents, Orbis builds sustainable eye care access in communities that is exponential in its effect.
Orbis develops and scales access to innovative technology that is revolutionizing training for eye care professionals and diagnosis and treatment for patients. Why? Because we know that these tools can have their greatest impact in the most underserved places. Innovative technology developed by Orbis allows ophthalmic training and eye care to be delivered in many places around the world where eye health infrastructure, medical education, and cutting-edge tools are otherwise not available.
Orbis puts treatment and prevention services within reach through programs that serve communities where they are. Why? Because we know that to reach the most underserved populations, quality care must not only be available, but also easily accessible.
Perhaps most importantly, Orbis prioritizes teamwork with local health authorities, local medical facilities, and local eye care teams to carry out our mission. Why? Because we know this is how our impact will endure long term and become self-sustaining. Collaborating with these groups, we ensure that eye care is prioritized on public health agendas and budgets and that it is seamlessly incorporated into existing health care systems so that eye health contributes to patients’ overall health and wellbeing, and vice versa.
The public health landscape is rapidly evolving, but at Orbis we are ready to meet the challenges ahead through transformation that not only changes lives but also stands the test of time. Your support is crucial as we work to make that vision a reality. Thank you for supporting Orbis in 2023. We look forward to your continued support in 2024. We cannot make our vision a reality without you.
Yours sincerely,
John Howitt
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Our Impact and Reach
Stories From Around the World
Financials
WHERE WE WORK
38%
Africa
17%
Asia
33%
Clinical Services and Program Technologies
10%
Global Programs
2%
Latin America and the Caribbean
HOW WE USE OUR FUNDS
92%
Program Services
4%
Management and General
4%
Fundraising
SOURCES OF SUPPORT
82%
Gifts-in-kind
15%
Contributions and Grants
3%
Orbis Affiliates
1%
Other Income
