The global investment bank UBS has been supporting ORBIS for more than 15 years. This partnership has made an impact on some of the world’s poorest communities. UBS supports an ORBIS project with Sankaradeva Nethralaya Eye Hospital in Guwahati, Assam, in northeast India. The project involves developing a child-friendly paediatric eye care unit at the hospital, thereby bringing paediatric eye care services to the 15 million children in Assam. 

The need for this project was clear -- the hospital could only serve about 30 percent of its paediatric patients, as it lacked sufficiently trained personnel and the necessary equipment to treat paediatric eye diseases. 

Since the project began in 2004, three ophthalmologists have received hands-on training in paediatric ophthalmology, and as a result, more than 600 paediatric sight-saving surgeries have been performed at the hospital. In addition, more than 100 community eye care workers and 113 teachers have been trained to detect childhood vision problems, and they have examined 20,000 children in the community. 

To learn how your company can get involved with ORBIS, please call 020 7608 7260 or e-mail info@orbis.org.uk.