Where we work

Cameroon

It is estimated that nearly a quarter of a million people in Cameroon suffer from blindness and 600,000 from vision loss. There is a lack of skilled eye care professionals, infrastructure and equipment to adequately address these needs which is why it has one of the highest rates of blindness in the world.

Ethiopia

Four million people in Ethiopia are blind or visually impaired. Cataracts are the leading cause, affecting some 1.7 million people. The country also accounts for 30% of trachoma in sub-Saharan African countries, or 1.2 million people. With only 130 ophthalmologists in the country, there is a severe shortage of eye health professionals.

Ghana

The need for child eye health services in Ghana is immense. It is estimated that 9000 children are blind, and up to 70% of these cases are avoidable. There are only two trained paediatric ophthalmologists in the country and no formal paediatric training exists.

Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania & Uganda

Across Africa, an estimated 4.8 million people are blind and another 16.6 million are visually impaired.

Zambia

Zambia has one of the lowest GDPs on the planet, with three-quarters of its population living in poverty. Tragically, it also has a large blind population and one of the highest rates of childhood blindness in the world.

Bangladesh

With only 1000 ophthalmologists, Bangladesh faces daunting challenges in delivering quality eye care to its population of 160 million people. Across the country, 750,000 adults and 48,000 children are blind, and approximately 2.5 million people are at risk for developing diabetic retinopathy (DR), a leading cause of blindness.

China

China is estimated to have the largest number of blind people in the world – around 8.2 million. Yet most eye care professionals, particularly surgically skilled ophthalmologists, are disproportionately located and practising in urban areas, while a majority of the blind live in rural areas.

India

India is home to more than 20% of the world's blind population and the largest number of blind children in any one country. The divide between the rich and poor continues to increase, leaving a significant portion of the population without access to basic healthcare services — most of whom live either in rural India or in urban slums.

Indonesia

Orbis has supported eye care in Indonesia since 1982 through Flying Eye Hospital visits and other training initiatives. Our current project is through a consortium with other eye health NGOs working collectively to improve eye health services in the country.

Mongolia

In Mongolia, access to high quality, affordable eye care services is limited in both urban and rural areas. Lack of equipment, training and infrastructure are major barriers to adequate care and there is no comprehensive framework to treat children’s eye disease.

Nepal

Nepal’s diverse terrain – ranging from hot & humid in the south to the snow clad Himalayas in the north – has exacerbated the unequal distribution of infrastructure, equipment & human resources in eye health. As a result much of the population (230k people blind & 1.47m visually impaired) is left without access to quality eye care services.

Vietnam

There are 300,000 adults and 23,000 children in Vietnam who are blind. While blindness in Vietnam has decreased over the last decade, the country continues to struggle with providing eye care, especially in rural areas. Quality of care, training and human resources still remain problematic, and overall awareness of how to prevent blindness is low.

Chile

We began working in Chile, where there are more than 57,000 people living with blindness and 470,000 people with vision impairment, in the fall of 2018. Simulation is a large part of our strategy both to help reach more people, and more importantly, improve patient safety.

Peru

In Peru, around 950k people are visually impaired and another 145,000 are blind. There is a critical need to tackle some of the more complicated and less understood causes of eye disease in the region such as Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) in premature babies and Diabetic Retinopathy (DR).

Bolivia

Bolivia has one of the highest rates of blindness and visual impairment in South America with almost 200,000 people affected. With only 470 ophthalmologists serving 11 million people, Bolivia lacks the resources - as well as the necessary infrastructure, equipment and technology - to provide high quality eye health services.

Guyana

In Guyana, around 14,000 people are visually impaired and almost 3,000 people are blind. Strengthening Diabetic Retinopathy eye care services is a major area of focus with diabetes affecting an estimated 15.1% of the country’s total population.

Orbis Headquarters

Orbis UK

The Orbis UK fundraising office in London

Orbis Ireland

The Orbis Ireland fundraising office

Orbis Canada

The Orbis Canada fundraising office

Orbis Hong Kong

The Orbis Hong Kong fundraising office

Orbis Macau

The Orbis Macau fundraising office

Orbis China

The Orbis China office

Orbis Singapore

The Orbis Singapore fundraising office