About Us

Orbis began saving sight in India in 1988 and set up a country office in Delhi in 2000. Orbis India's main focus areas are children's eye care, primary eye care, human resources for eye health, and enabling quality eye health. 

India is home to more than 20 percent of the world's blind population and the largest number of blind children in any one country. The divide between the rich and poor continues to increase, leaving a significant portion of the population without access to basic healthcare services – most of whom live either in rural India or in urban slums. 

270,000 children are living with blindness in India, with more than 50% of these cases being avoidable. More than 1.61 million children have uncorrected refractive errors, suffering not only vision impairment but critical setbacks to their development. Uncorrected refractive error can often be easily rectified with a simple intervention like a pair of eyeglasses, which is why pediatric eye care remains one of our priorities. 

To add, there are only 15 ophthalmologists per million people in India, with fewer than 50% doing surgeries.

To improve access to eye care in underserved communities, we collaborate with partners nationwide to build strong eye care systems that cover the full range of eye care services — from educating people about eye health and the importance of preventive care to identifying eye conditions in the community to providing treatment and follow-up services for those who need them. 

We not only improve access to eye care in the communities that need it most, but we do it in a sustainable and strategic way that leaves a lasting legacy of vision. 

To make eye care systems strong and sustainable, Orbis works with Ministries of Health and partners with local medical facilities to ensure that: public health agendas and budgets prioritize eye care eye care is seamlessly incorporated into existing healthcare systems so that eye health contributes to patients’ overall health and wellbeing, and vice versa quality eye care services are available and accessible where patients need them—whether in rural health centers or urban hospitals eye care teams have the training and equipment they need to deliver high-quality sight-saving care.

• Hosted 18 Flying Eye Hospital visits and one virtual Flying Eye Hospital visit
• Developed a comprehensive network of 35 Children's Eye Centers across 17 states (one eye care center for every 20 million children as compared to one eye care center for every 100 million children in 2000)
• Conducted more than 19 million pediatric eye screenings
• Provided 1.6 million children with medical and optical treatment Performed 104,870 surgeries on children
• Organized 199,643 ophthalmic trainings for eye care-workers in India Equipped three tertiary-level pediatric facilities to provide pediatric ophthalmology training
• Supported the establishment of 144 vision centers (of which 33 are green vision centers) to increase access to eye care in hard-to-reach communities
• Set up a Quality Resource Center at Dr. Shroff's Charity Eye Hospital to improve the quality of eye hospitals nationally and internationally Conducted 99 training projects in local hospitals
• Strengthened and renovated two Digital Training Hubs for simulation training
• Developed the REACH program for school screenings to ensure a continuous follow-up after screening

The Refractive Error Among Children (REACH) project aims to reduce visual impairment due to uncorrected refractive error among school-going children and provide a sustainable and scalable solution to a shortage of care. 

Orbis, along with our partners, develops teams of ophthalmic personnel and supports them with digital and clinical equipment to perform screenings in schools, and provide eyeglasses, as well as referrals for children who require further examination and treatment. 

More than 19 million children from 21,000 schools have undergone screening as part of the REACH program in India, with 78% of those living in rural locations. Read more about the design and delivery of our REACH program in India in this paper published in Taylor & Francis online. This model has also been rolled out successfully in Bangladesh, Ghana, and Nepal.
 

Gallery: Screening school children in India through REACH.

Orbis has supported the development of around 100 vision centers in India, Bangladesh,  Peru, Bolivia, and Mongolia — including pioneering women-led green vision centers. These facilities are located in rural communities, far from major cities, to serve people who would otherwise have little or no access to eye care. 

Each vision center is staffed by trained ophthalmic personnel who can recognize eye diseases, conduct refractions, provide eyeglasses, and refer patients to hospitals for more complex treatment. Some also offer telemedicine consultations with doctors in regional hospitals, helping patients receive quality care without the burden of traveling hundreds of miles. 

Beyond clinical services, vision centers aim to serve their communities by running awareness campaigns, outreach camps, and school screening programs to promote eye health in remote and hard-to-reach areas. Each one serves a catchment population of up to 100,000 people.

By 2030, Orbis aims to establish more than 200 vision centers in rural communities — at least 50 of which will be managed and led by women — helping to close the eye care gap for millions of people.