ANNUAL REPORT
Orbis’s iconic Flying Eye Hospital took its very first flight 40 years ago. Over the four decades since, Orbis has continually harnessed the power of innovation to reach new heights in the fight against avoidable vision loss.
Putting a hospital on a plane was only the beginning of our innovation story. Thanks to your support, that innovative spirit continues to help us change the way the world sees.
Orbis began with a big challenge and an even bigger idea.
The big challenge: eliminate avoidable vision loss.
The bigger idea: bring training from the world’s best eye care professionals directly to the eye care teams that need it most.
The Flying Eye Hospital was our first innovative idea to meet this challenge. Since 1982, countless eye care teams have since stepped on board to build their skills with Orbis’s Volunteer Faculty, medical experts who freely share their knowledge, and our clinical teams. Along the way, we’ve equipped the plane with the latest training technology – like simulators that allow eye care professionals to practice for surgery just like pilots practice for flight.
Next, we began to establish country programs on the ground in Africa, Asia, and Latin American and the Caribbean that train local eye care teams and build strong systems that influence national policies to prioritize eye health.
Our next big idea – Cybersight – is a telemedicine platform we launched in the earliest days of the internet so that we could reach eye care teams no matter where they are. One of the platform’s greatest assets is its artificial intelligence tool, Cybersight AI. We believe that
AI has the potential to revolutionize access to eye care, and Cybersight AI aims to ensure that no one is left behind by putting cutting-edge AI tools into the hands of eye care professionals around the world.
Orbis has always been at the forefront of the next and best in technology. From harnessing the power of artificial intelligence, to developing a first-of-its-kind virtual reality simulator, to introducing a new blended learning model built on what we learned during the global pandemic, Orbis is always finding new, innovative methods to change the way the world sees.
2022 was a landmark year for Orbis. Not only did the Flying Eye Hospital return to in-person projects in Texas, California, and Doha, but the team also completed two virtual training projects, in Ethiopia and Vietnam. The Cybersight digital community is now leveraged by more than 76,500 eye care professionals from almost every country and region in the world.
This year, Orbis experts published more insightful, first-of-their-kind research articles in peer-reviewed journals than in any year prior. This research will guide and inspire local and global leaders alike to deliver better, more efficient eye care programs.
In this report, you’ll also learn about the patients we treat and the professionals we train. You will read about the arduous journeys of intrepid health care workers conducting trachoma impact surveys in Ethiopia. You will meet Nurun and Dr. Selam, women health care workers in Bangladesh and Ethiopia, respectively, who are making a difference for women and children in their own communities. You will also meet Lucia and Aadya, patients from Zambia and Nepal, whose futures changed dramatically thanks to interventions from Orbis-trained professionals.
With your support, this year, Orbis not only continued to embrace our 40-year culture of innovation but also set more steppingstones in place to take eye care to the next level in the future.
With much gratitude,
Derek Hodkey
This year, we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Flying Eye Hospital’s first flight.
During these past forty years, millions have benefitted from Orbis-provided eye health training. We should all be so proud of the accomplishments of the Orbis team during the last four decades.
As we look towards the future, with Orbis's record of innovation and adaptability, we should also be confident that Orbis will continue to successfully pursue its goal to eliminate avoidable vision loss and blindness around the world. The best way to fight avoidable vision loss is to bring people together to share their knowledge, skills, and support. This is what Orbis does. Today, Orbis has more ways than ever to bring people together.
Orbis is world-renowned for its Flying Eye Hospital. The Flying Eye Hospital – with its state-of-the art surgical facility and now with its state-of-the-art simulation equipment, and our volunteer medical experts and clinical staff – has been in the vanguard of ophthalmic training and treatment, enabling Orbis to bring its high level of training to country after country around the world.
More recently, and particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Orbis telemedicine platform, Cybersight, has enabled Orbis to continue to provide this standard of training in far corners of the globe, including in many areas where the Flying Eye Hospital and Orbis personnel and volunteer medical experts simply cannot go. Cybersight lets Orbis put quality training programs in the hands of any eye care professional with an internet connection and a smartphone, which are common and affordable in lowand middle-income countries.
In addition to delivering training, Cybersight can be used to facilitate remote patient consultations in many cases, alleviating costly and impractical patient travel. Its use with artificial intelligence can also aid eye care professionals in ensuring more of their patients have
common eye conditions detected early, when vision loss is easier to prevent.
Orbis’s innovative spirit over the past four decades will continue to guide the organization in the decades ahead. Alongside Orbis’s commitment to continue investing in technology and innovation, the organization’s programs will focus on the priority areas
of children’s eye care; eliminating blinding trachoma; specialized programs for women and girls; supporting community-based eye care services, especially making them accessible for vulnerable and marginalized people and populations; and building the capacity of eye health teams globally.
Looking towards the future amidst a rapidly changing public health landscape, Orbis remains undaunted by the challenges ahead and resolute in its mission to save sight around the world. With your support, we can continue to change the way the world sees.
Yours sincerely,
John Howitt
WHERE WE WORK
29%
Africa
20%
Asia
38%
Clinical Services and Program Technologies
11%
Global Programs
2%
Latin America and the Caribbean
HOW WE USE OUR FUNDS
86%
Program Services
7%
Management and General
7%
Fundraising
SOURCES OF SUPPORT
64%
Gifts-in-kind
31%
Contributions and Grants
4%
Orbis Affiliates
1%
Other Income
