Project Orbis International

Orbis is a global leader and innovator in the fight to end avoidable blindness. We collaborate with our local partners to create long-term, sustainable eye care solutions in low- and middle-income countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. ​

Working side by side with local hospitals, ministries of health, like-minded NGOs and community groups, our mission is to make quality eye care accessible to everyone, everywhere – from bustling cities to the most remote rural villages. 

We combine traditional hands-on skills transfer with the latest in medical simulation and telemedicine technology to empower entire eye care teams with the knowledge and skills to tackle the most pressing eye health needs in their own communities. Whether it is an eye doctor performing complex surgeries in an urban hospital, a nurse treating patients in a rural clinic, or a primary health care worker screening children in her own community.
We strengthen eye care systems, infrastructure and patient referral networks to build eye health capacity and increase access to quality eye care – now and for the future.
We educate communities and increase awareness about the importance of eye health as a critical component of better overall health and well-being.
We deliver community-based eye health outreach initiatives, ranging from eye screening programs for children in rural schools to the mass distribution of antibiotics to treat and prevent infectious causes of blindness.
We advocate for equal and equitable access to eye health to help ensure no woman, man, girl or boy has to live a life of darkness, dependence and inescapable poverty caused by vision loss that could be easily prevented.

While ending avoidable blindness is our mission, Orbis’s work is about much more than helping people see. The link between poverty and vision loss is clear – poverty causes poor vision and poor vision leads to poverty. Orbis helps break this vicious cycle. By restoring sight, we empower people with the ability to go to school, get an education, work to earn a living and take care of themselves and their families. Removing the burden of blindness eliminates barriers and creates opportunities for people to live better, healthier, more productive and more prosperous lives. As a result, individuals, families and entire communities, health systems and economies become stronger.

Orbis is also working to close the blindness gender gap and help women and girls reach their full potential. Our gender-focused eye care projects not only help ensure equitable access to high-quality eye care for women and girls, but also create training and employment opportunities, and engage women to play a leading role in eye health in their communities. When we break down gender barriers and create gender equality in eye care, we empower women and girls to be change makers. And when we create opportunities for women and girls to reach their full potential, the result is measurable social, economic and cultural change and a better world.

Orbis Canada is an affiliate of Orbis International, headquartered in New York City.

• Facebook
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Instagram
• Pinterest