ORBIS International is an international non-profit non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to saving sight worldwide. ORBIS programs focus on the prevention of blindness and the treatment of blinding eye diseases in developing countries. Since 1982, ORBIS capacity-building programs have enhanced the skills of more than 295,000 eye care personnel and provided eye care treatment to more than 18 million people in 90 countries.
ORBIS is best known for its "Flying Eye Hospital," an ophthalmic hospital and teaching facility located on board a DC-10 jet aircraft. ORBIS volunteer pilots fly the plane and its international medical team to developing countries around the world to teach urgently needed sight-saving skills. Local patients receive free treatment during this training.
ORBIS is headquartered in New York, with offices in Toronto, London, Dublin, Hong Kong, Macau, Shanghai, Kunming, Taipei, Addis Ababa, Delhi, Dhaka and Hanoi.
In addition to the Flying Eye Hospital, ORBIS operates hospital-based programs in several countries and works with local medical research and health-care organizations on blindness prevention and eye disease treatment. An ORBIS telemedicine program called "Cyber-Sight" uses the Internet to connect ophthalmologists for one-on-one collaboration and mentoring.
ORBIS is a founding partner, along with the World Health Organization, of VISION 2020: The Right to Sight, "a worldwide concerted effort designed to eliminate avoidable blindness by the year 2020."
ORBIS is a registered 501(c)(3) tax-deductible non-profit charity in the United States.
Read more about Orbis International: History, The ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital, Country Programs
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