2021 Impact Report

Dear Friends,

Lisa McKeen

Chief Executive Officer, Orbis Canada

In yet another extraordinary year of challenge, we’re proud to report Orbis continued to respond and deliver on our mission with significant impact, both abroad and at home.

Our 2021 Impact Report highlights just some of our key achievements and major milestones from the past year, all made possible because of the generosity of our donors, like you.

For a second straight year, Orbis delivered a mass drug administration program in Ethiopia to fight trachoma, the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness. Despite the obstacles we faced, we couldn’t let anything stop this extremely time-sensitive work. With our team of dedicated community health workers and volunteers, we distributed over 12.3 million doses of antibiotics to stop the progression and spread of trachoma. We also performed more than 16,000 trichiasis surgeries to relieve suffering and restore sight.

Building on the success of our virtual and blended learning training programs from 2020, our Flying Eye Hospital team and Volunteer Faculty continued to provide critical training and mentorship to eye care professionals through our Cybersight telemedicine platform. In many cases, this was the only professional lifeline for those living in the most remote areas.

Now, after a two-year hiatus, it’s likely that our majestic Flying Eye Hospital will once again take flight, delivering essential eye care training and building awareness where it’s needed most.

Throughout the pandemic, it has been Orbis’s innovative spirit that has led to our incredible achievements in one of the toughest working environments in history. But, as we move forward in 2022, the immediate future still holds great challenges as we navigate our way through COVID-19 variants.

Millions of people all around the world are counting on us, and our commitment to them is unwavering – thanks to your support. Thank you for believing in our work and sharing in our successes. It will indeed take all of us to ensure our mission is fulfilled.

Changing the Way the World Sees

For 40 years, Orbis has been a global leader and innovator in the fight to end avoidable blindness. We collaborate with our local partners across the health service to create long-term, sustainable eye care solutions in low- and middle-income countries throughout 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.

Training eye care teams around the world

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.

Strengthening health care systems

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.

Increasing community awareness about eye health

We educate communities and increase awareness about the importance of eye health as a critical component of better overall health and well-being.

Reaching individuals and families where they live

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.

Advocating for equal and equitable access

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.

Building Stronger Communities

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.

Our Impact Abroad

Taking Action to Stop the Spread

This past year, Orbis and our team of dedicated community health workers and volunteers distributed over 12.3 million doses of antibiotics to treat and prevent trachoma in Ethiopia. In December alone, we reached nearly 9 million people across 102 priority districts with a large-scale home-to-home mass drug administration program.

A New Model for Diabetes Care in China

In 2021, Orbis completed a milestone project aimed at creating a scalable model to improve diabetes care and reduce potentially blinding diabetic eye diseases in rural China. The "Integrated Rural Diabetic Eye Care" project trained over 4,000 doctors, nurses and community health workers and treated nearly 1.1 million people.

Vision Centres Keep Eye Care Accessible

With travel restricted and health care facilities pushed to the brink due to COVID, Vision Centres became more important than ever to ensure families in rural communities could continue to access free or low-cost essential eye care services close to home.

Enhanced Training and Blended Learning

Virtual training and mentorship through our Cybersight telemedicine platform has long been an important part of our mission. But when the pandemic halted nearly all in-person training opportunities, Cybersight became a true virtual lifeline.

Better Eye Care for Babies in Rural Bangladesh

With funding from the Donner Canadian Foundation and Peter Gilgan Foundation, Orbis supported the creation of two specialized ROP centres in rural districts to help ensure no baby has to grow up blind because of ROP.

Bringing Eye Care Closer to Home in Ghana

With grants from the Gay Lea Foundation, L’OCCITANE Canada and an anonymous donor, Orbis scaled up and expanded our work to create community-level access to primary eye care for families in Ghana’s Ashanti Region.

Canadians Answering the Call

Our Next Generation of Eye Health Heroes

In 2021, we launched the Orbis Future Vision Leaders program, an exciting new community for Canadian medical students, ophthalmology postgraduate trainees and residents who are passionate about global health and supporting Orbis.

Flight for Sight Takes to the Skies

In partnership with Microsoft Flight Simulator, and supported by National Event Sponsor, FedEx, we hosted our first-ever Flight for Sight virtual fundraising event and raised over $153,000 to support our sight-saving work around the world.

Financial Information

At Orbis Canada, we work hard to ensure your gifts are used as effectively as possible. The funds we raise go directly to increasing access to quality eye care and saving sight in the countries where we work. We also invest in future of the organization to ensure we can continue delivering on our important mission for as long as needed.

*Please note our 2021 Audited Financial Statements will be available soon.