Orbis volunteer doctor performing surgery in blue scrubs and a mask

About us

Orbis UK is an affiliate of Orbis International, an international charity working to make eye care available everywhere, for everyone, so no one has to experience the consequences of avoidable blindness.

Changing the Way the World Sees

Orbis' vision is to transform lives through the prevention and treatment of blindness.

Our mission is to use our amazing network of partners, supporters, staff and sector leading volunteers to empower local communities with the skills and resources necessary to fight blindness on their own.

Working alongside eye teams in communities, we provide training and guidance, leaving a long-term eye care legacy.

We strive for excellence in everything we do, from our world leading volunteers to our state-of-the-art Flying Eye Hospital and only the best training and practices will be passed on.

Our Work

With the help of our amazing partners and supporters we have been a pioneer in the prevention and treatment of blindness for 40 years.

We have long-term projects around the world across countries including India, Bangladesh, Nepal, China, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Ghana, Zambia, Peru and Bolivia. Visit our Where We Work section for more information.

With the support of our partners we have trained hundreds of thousands of doctors, nurses, biomedical engineers and eye care workers over the past four decades.

As a result we have positively impacted the lives of millions of men, women and children enabling them to see the world clearly and reach their full potential.

Impact In 2022

787,720

eye screenings, exceeding our target by 60%

13,513

training sessions for clinical staff and community representatives exceeding our target by 3%

34,574

treatments, exceeding our target by nearly 35%

Our history

Orbis UK is an affiliate of Orbis International, a global charity that brings people together to fight avoidable blindness. Find out more about the amazing story behind the creation of Orbis.

An old photo showing many original founding members of Orbis, sitting in a boardroom round a table

Orbis board members

Orbis is fortunate to have dedicated board members who are committed to helping us fulfill our mission.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Orbis UK are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) in the workplace and throughout our organisation.

Financials

Orbis depends on caring individuals, companies and foundations to help treat and train eye care teams around the world.

Corporate Partners

We are incredibly grateful to our corporate partners for their amazing support. Their contributions range from major multi-year cash grants to critically needed gifts in kind.

Work for us

At Orbis we look to attract inspiring and motivated people to help fight blindness in communities around the world. Experience is vital to any application but over and above this we are looking for individuals who share our values.

Transparency and accountability

At Orbis, everything we do is guided by our vision to transform lives through the prevention and treatment of blindness.

Statutory and institutional donors

Funding from governments and other institutional donors plays an essential role in delivering Orbis projects that address blindness and visual impairment around the world.

Orbis UK Ambassadors

We are very lucky to have some amazing individuals as our Ambassadors, from volunteers on our projects to business leaders, from ex-pilots to journalists.

How we are run