Program Priorities

Orbis has had long-standing success in and commitment to giving children the best start in life. Given the significant impact eye health has on a child’s quality of life, pediatric eye care will remain a driving factor for our work. As one of the leading infectious causes of blindness, trachoma elimination will also remain a top priority for Orbis.

Additionally, strengthening human resources for eye health through training and capacity-building will remain at the heart of what we do. Building local capacity and skills lead to better and more sustainable contributions to public eye health in the communities we serve.

Our programmatic work and blended learning will be central to our service delivery and will continue to be delivered via the Flying Eye Hospital, hospital-based trainings, our Cybersight platform, country program offices, and in-country programming.

Additionally, given our overarching aim of increasing access to equitable eye health services, we will focus on the following intersecting program priorities:

• Gender equity
• Disability inclusion
• Internally displaced populations
• Community-based primary care

Data show that women and girls, people with disabilities, and internally displaced populations are at greater risk for eye disease and have some of the poorest access to quality and equitable eye care. Globally, there are 112 million more women than men living with vision loss, including blindness. To maximize our impact and ensure equitable access to eye care, it is critical for us to focus on these groups. Additionally, bringing care directly to communities will enable us to reach the most marginalized and underserved populations faster. Primary care facilities are often the first opportunity for community members to receive access to eye care, particularly in rural areas.