Training for Sight: How Orbis Builds Sustainable Eye Care

• In Zambia, an Orbis team recently worked with doctors at Lusaka Eye Hospital, offering hands-on training in cataract surgery. Cataracts are the world’s leading cause of blindness, yet treatment takes just 20 minutes. By learning modern surgical techniques, local doctors can now perform more safe operations, helping hundreds of people regain their sight each year.
• In Peru, Orbis trainers supported hospitals to improve glaucoma care, a condition often called the “silent thief of sight”. Without treatment, glaucoma can lead to irreversible blindness. By giving doctors, the skills to detect and treat the condition earlier, whole communities are better protected.
• In Zambia’s Strabismus Project, training means that more children with misaligned eyes (strabismus) can access surgery. For a child, correcting strabismus is about more than just seeing clearly, it boosts their confidence, their ability to learn at school, and their chance to thrive socially. 

One of the most powerful examples of Orbis’s sustainable training is the Flying Eye Hospital; a fully equipped teaching hospital on board an aircraft. Inside, local teams learn side by side with Orbis Volunteer Faculty, using operating theatres, classrooms and simulation labs.

The Flying Eye Hospital makes world-class teaching accessible through:

• Hands-on training – Local doctors, nurses and anaesthetists practise new skills during live surgeries.
• Simulation and VR – Teams learn techniques on high-tech tools before operating, with equipment often donated to local hospitals afterwards.
• Sustainable partnerships – In countries like Mongolia, repeated visits mean skills are built up year after year, leaving stronger eye care systems behind.

• In Mongolia, more than 250 eye care professionals were trained, over 50 patients received surgery, and local surgeons mastered complex glaucoma procedures.
• In Bangladesh, over 40 people had sight-saving surgeries, while medical teams gained new skills in cataract, cornea and retina care.
• In Rwanda, where just 30 ophthalmologists serve over 13 million people, the Flying Eye Hospital is helped close the gap: bringing advanced cataract training and awareness to where it’s needed most.

Training creates ripples that spread far beyond one patient: 

1. Once a doctor learns a new technique, they can use it again and again.
2. With Orbis mentors at their side, local doctors learn how to handle difficult surgeries.
3. Many trainees go on to train others, multiplying the impact.
4. Nurses, anaesthetists and support staff also benefit, making whole systems better. 

Put simply: when Orbis trains one eye team, an entire community benefits for years to come.