Every January, millions of us make New Year’s resolutions: Eat better, Move more, Learn something new... Stick with it this time! At Orbis, we believe resolutions are powerful, especially when they’re about changing lives.
As 2026 begins, we’re setting bold resolutions of our own. Not the kind that fade by February, but the kind that brings lasting change. For millions of people around the world, clear vision can mean education, independence, and opportunity.
Here’s what Orbis is committing to in 2026 – and why it matters now.
In Ethiopia, more than 8 million people are living with sight loss or visual impairment. Many cases are avoidable, caused by cataract, refractive error or blinding trachoma. In fact, Ethiopia carries 64% of the global burden of blinding trachoma, with 66 million people living in at-risk areas.
In Southwest of Ethiopia, the crisis is even more visible, as there isn’t a single facility regularly providing cataract surgery and glasses, and people have to travel up to 160 miles to the nearest specialist service.
That distance is more than inconvenient – it puts sight-saving care out of reach. Faced with travel costs, time away from work and treatment fees, many people delay care. Others never go at all.
In 2026, Orbis is changing that. We’re working with the Ethiopian Ministry of Health and two partner hospitals to establish two new secondary eye care units. These centres will bring treatment and surgery closer to home, for an estimated 3.5 million people.
Together, these new services will:
Ebba in Hawassa was carefully screened for paediatric strabismus while local eye doctors gain specialist training to manage complex cases.
In Ghana, more than three million people live with vision loss, around 10% of the population. Yet 67% of people living with blindness are in areas with no eye care services at all.
The challenge is even greater for children. Ghana has just four child eye care specialists nationwide. For families in rural areas, poor roads, long journeys and cultural barriers can make accessing care impossible.
In 2026, we will:
By working with schools, health services and communities, we’re making sure eye care happens earlier, closer, and fairer, especially for women and girls. Because every child deserves the chance to see clearly and learn confidently.
Six-year-old Alvin from Kumasi received surgery to remove a vision‑threatening dermoid cyst in his right eye, chosen as a teaching case by first-time Orbis Volunteer Faculty Dr. Sima Das during the Flying Eye Hospital project.
In India, a staggering 47 million people live with severe visual impairment. Nearly 80% of vision loss is preventable or treatable, yet access remains a challenge.
For many communities, eye care still means travelling over 100km and worrying about how they can even afford the surgery.
Since April 2023, Orbis has been working in Odisha to change this.
By 2026, our Comprehensive Childhood Blindness project will continue to strengthen five Green Vision Centres, each serving populations of more than 100,000 people.
These community-based centres provide:
Alongside this, Community Health Workers are raising awareness in schools and villages, helping people understand when eye conditions can be prevented or treated, and when to seek care early.
Fourteen-year-old Kunti from Siliguri, India, was screened through the Orbis REACH project, which brings vision care to schools and communities, helping children like her get early diagnosis and treatment for refractive errors.
In Vietnam, around seven million people live with diabetes. Over one million are at risk of developing Diabetic Retinopathy, a condition that can cause permanent vision loss if left untreated.
In January 2026, Orbis launched a new partnership with Roche Pharma Vietnam to tackle this growing crisis.
Across seven partner hospitals in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the project will:
By strengthening systems and skills now, we’re protecting sight for Vietnam’s working-age population, and helping people stay healthy, independent and employed.
Hai and Hung, young patients at Vietnam National Eye Hospital, were among 25 children examined during a hands-on glaucoma and anesthesiology training, with 15 receiving sight-saving procedures.
In Mongolia, almost half the population lives a nomadic life across vast distances and extreme weather.
Many premature babies in Mongolia are at risk of Retinopathy of Prematurity, a condition that is entirely preventable with the right screening and care. But their family's nomadic lifestyle means access to eyecare is limited.
Orbis has partnered with Mongolia’s National Maternity and Child Health Hospital since 2014, improving neonatal care and eye screening standards.
In 2026, we will continue to:
In 2025 alone, over 7,000 children were screened through community outreach, and nearly 20,000 patients accessed eye care services.
Born 2 months pre-mature, Tumurmunkh, was treated by an Orbis trained eye doctor, Dr. Battsetseg in Mongolia.
New Year’s resolutions usually start with the best intentions. They’re made with hope, energy and a real desire for change.
But as the year unfolds, life can get busy. Routines shift, challenges appear, and even the most meaningful goals can become harder to keep front of mind.
What often makes the difference between letting a resolution drift and seeing it through are a few simple things:
At Orbis, we know lasting change doesn’t happen overnight. It takes commitment, partnership and persistence, and that’s exactly what we’re bringing into 2026.
Because when we keep our resolutions, millions of people get the chance to see a clearer future.
