One of the most critical issues in global eye health is the lack of an adequately trained workforce. Our global network of expert volunteers, including highly trained ophthalmology volunteer specialists, give up their free time to share their skills and knowledge to help improve the quality of patient care and ensure more people can see.
Expert Volunteers
Our world renowned expert volunteers are the heartbeat of our training programmes. For more than 30 years, our goal has been to share their ophthalmology volunteer skills and knowledge as part of our eye charity work to help prevent avoidable blindness around the world.
In 2023, Vietnam was the first patient-facing mission for the Flying Eye Hospital since the Covid pandemic, with over 50 patients receiving treatment and 52 eye care workers trained.
In Zambia, a strabismus-focused programme saw over 50 more patients receive sight saving treatment with over 80 eye care workers benefitting from the training in-person and online.
This is the very reason Orbis was formed – to provide ongoing training and support to eye care teams around the world. Our global network of more than 400 expert volunteers, including volunteer ophthalmologists, nurses, anaesthetists, and biomedical engineers from over 30 countries, share their ophthalmology volunteer expertise to raise the standard of eye care for generations to come.
By talking to our partner hospitals and their staff, we create teaching programmes tailored specifically for their needs. Our ophthalmology volunteers conduct this training and pass on the tools to undertake more complicated procedures, improve surgical outcomes and most importantly of all, restore sight to those in need of assistance.
LOOKING FOR OPHTHALMOLOGY VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES?
Find out how to become an ophthalmology volunteerOur teams of expert volunteers also mentor people worldwide through our telemedicine platform, Cybersight. With 89% of the world’s blind population living in low-income settings, this training makes eye care more accessible where it is needed most.
Your support means our ophthalmology volunteers can run training programmes which not only help share critical skills but help treat people living with avoidable blindness.
Thanks to your support and thanks to our dedicated expert volunteers, life-changing moments happen every day. Children can see their parents for the first time; an elderly man regains his vision, meaning his grandchild can go to school and no longer needs to be a carer; or a mother can receive surgery and return to work to support her family.
Help our expert volunteers train eye care teams in communities around the world
Dr Ian Fleming training Vietnamese clinicians
Faqs
What Do Orbis Eye Charity Volunteers Do?
Orbis volunteers teach and mentor local eye care teams on the Flying Eye Hospital, in partner hospitals and through Cybersight, sharing skills to improve eye care and restore sight.
Can Non‑Doctors Volunteer With Orbis?
Yes. Orbis also welcomes nurses, anaesthetists and biomedical engineers as volunteers, not just ophthalmologists, as long as they meet the eligibility and credentialing criteria.
