Orbis India Newsletter Volume 2, Issue 1
From the Director’s desk
Greetings from Orbis!
As we begin this new year, we would like to extend a heartfelt thank you for making 2015 an
amazing year for us! It is because of the unstinting support we received from partners like you
that we can look back on a productive and fulfilling year.
Inauguration of our Quality Resource Center, launch of the Vision Screening Handbook,
Cybersight in its new avatar and this Newsletter that you are reading are but few of the highlights
of last year. An important development during 2015 has been the development of a new global
strategic plan that will guide us towards our vision of the future.
We at Orbis look to the future with great hope and confidence to seed and catalyze newer efforts
in our common cause to eliminate avoidable blindness. With several exciting projects rolling out,
we believe that 2016 will be inspiring for all of us.
On behalf of all of us here at Orbis, I wish you and your team a very happy,
healthy and fulfilling New Year!
Dr. Rahul Ali
Country Director Orbis India
Orbis is First Program Partner for the IAPB 10th General Assembly
We are delighted to inform you that Orbis has confirmed its place as the first Program Partner for the
IAPB 10th General Assembly (IAPB 10GA) to be held from 27 - 30 October 2016 in Durban, South
Africa. The theme for 10GA is “Stronger Together”. Here, IAPB will be showcasing one of the eye
health sector’s remarkable success stories – longstanding cross-sectoral partnerships. As a valued and
equal partner in our work to eliminate avoidable and treatable blindness and visual impairment, we
invite you to submit abstract(s) presenting highlights from your work. We request that all abstracts
related to work supported by Orbis be submitted to [email protected] for review prior to submission
to the IAPB 10GA Program Committee. All other abstracts can be submitted directly to the IAPB 10GA
Program Committee. Submission guidelines: 10ga.iapb.org/submit-abstract/
Durban
South Africa
27-30 October 2016
Sadguru Netra Chikitsalaya inaugurates a world-class modular OT complex
Sadguru Netra Chikitsalaya has earned numerous laurels over the years from being the world's largest
rural eye care provider to being the first eye hospital to perform 100,000 cataract surgeries in a year.
Sadguru has established one of the largest primary eye care networks - 34 vision centers - and caters
to over 700,000 outpatients, performs over 135,000 ophthalmic surgeries and conducts over 3000
outreach camps each year. The institution has performed over 1.5 million surgeries since its inception
in 1968. Having ISO 9001-2008 Quality Certification, it is also an International Training Center affiliated
to the International Council of Ophthalmology. The recent addition to their long list of achievements is
the new wing with 25 state-of-the-art Modular Operation Theatres and one Lasik Suite; this happens to
be the world’s largest ophthalmic OT complex. Our best wishes to Sadguru Netra Chikitsalaya team as
they scale newer heights in our fight against avoidable blindness.
World Sight Day was observed to raise awareness on eye care
VISION 2020: The Right to Sight – INDIA organized a wide range of activities across Bengaluru and
Delhi to mark the World Sight Day (WSD) 2015. The events in Bengaluru were kicked off by a biker’s
rally a few days prior to the WSD. 10 Harley Davidson bikes thundered across the city waving banners
and distributing leaflets during the 70 km ride. The objective was noble - to raise public awareness about
blindness prevention and eye health. The highlight of the Bengaluru event was a 1.3 km ‘Walk for
Vision’ at the green lung of Bengaluru - Cubbon Park. Nearly 650 people including students, VISION
2020 members and the general public participated in this walk led by the senior government officials
from the Ministry of Health, Government of India and the state of Karnataka. In the national capital, FM
Radio channels were used to reach out and amplify the importance of eye health in people’s lives.
Orbis entertains and educates children on eye health through comics
There is no better way to engage children than with comics. So, on the occasion of World Sight Day,
Orbis India brought out comics for children using the epic comic character Chacha Chaudhary. He is
accompanied by popular characters Billoo, Pinki and the Orbis India Mascot Twinkle. These comics are
being used as a medium to both engage and communicate with children by lending a delightful twist to
subjects such as refractive error and eye health and safety. The comic was launched at the event
organized by VISION 2020: The Right to Sight India to mark the World Sight Day 2015. A copy of the
comics can be read here. Comics - English | Comics - Hindi
Now the Vision Screening
Handbook is also in Marathi
H V Desai Eye Hospital, Pune has
translated Orbis’s Vision Screening
Handbook for School Teachers in Marathi.
Orbis has developed this material to aid
teachers in identifying vision problems,
eye diseases, and disorders among their
students and also to educate students
about eye health and safety. “We would
like to thank H V Desai Eye Hospital for
this effort to increase the scope and reach
of the Handbook,” says Dr. Rahul Ali,
Orbis.
We welcome other institutions to
reproduce the Handbook in their regional
languages and thereby help even more
teachers in identifying and referring
students with any eye related problems.
So far the Handbook is available in
English, Hindi and Nepali.
Orbis introduces ICOM to support data management at outreach activities
Orbis launched an Integrated Community Outreach Module, Orbis-ICOM, to automate data management
at outreach activities. The software aids patient registration, capturing of comprehensive clinical
examination data, optical services, and referral management. This is a comprehensive solution for
improving operational effectiveness and data quality thereby enhancing the quality of patient care. The
software has currently been implemented at CL Gupta Eye Institute’s outreach efforts - 5 vision centers,
camps and vision van.
Orbis and MOFA, Taiwan join hands to deliver quality eye care in West Bengal
An agreement was signed between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), R. O. C. (Taiwan) and Orbis
at Susrut Eye Foundation and Research Center to develop a long-term sustainable pediatric eye care
system and deliver quality eye care services to the children of West Bengal. MOFA Taiwan was
represented by Ambassador. Chung-Kwang Tien, Honorable Representative of Taiwan to India from the
Taipei Economic & Cultural Center (TECC) in India and Orbis was represented by Dr. Rahul Ali, Country
Director-India. Ms. Jeannie Tien Chen, Honorable Ambassadress of Taiwan to India from the TECC, Mr.
Tu, Hu-Fan, Director, Taipei World Trade Center, Liaison Office in Kolkata and Dr. Ratish Chandra
Paul, Secretary Susrut Eye Foundation and Research Center were also present on the occasion.
Bhojpur in Uttar Pradesh now has a Vision Center
C L Gupta Eye Institute (CLGEI), Moradabad launched their 5th vision center supported by Orbis at
Bhojpur, 22 km from the base hospital. Andre Wamsi, Community Development Officer, Moradabad
inaugurated the center in the presence of Dr. Sanjeev Yadav Chief Medical Officer, Moradabad, Shikha
Gupta, Chairman of CLGEI, Dr. Pradeep Agarwal, Director of CLGEI and Sardar Gurvinder Singh,
Secretary of CLGEI.
2nd Regional Meeting on the implementation of Universal Eye Health in SEAR
WHO SEARO and IAPB SEA jointly convened the 2nd Regional Meeting on the implementation of
“Universal Eye Health: A Global Action Plan 2014 – 2019” in the SEAR Member States on December
15 – 16, 2015 at Kathmandu, Nepal. Nanda Bahadur Pun, the Honourable Vice-President of Nepal,
was the Chief Guest at the opening ceremony. Representatives from the MoH, WHO, IAPB SEAR,
experts, and international partners from the region participated in this meeting. Dr. Rahul Ali, Country
Director—India represented Orbis at the meet.
Sankara has developed a real time Blindness Prevention Surveillance System
Sankara Eye Foundation is now equipped with SERVIS (Sankara Electronic Remote Vision
Information System) an android based application designed to capture live village level data for
planning necessary interventions aimed at control of blindness. This innovation has made community
outreach efforts paperless as Sankara’s team of field workers, doctors and paramedics will use tablets
to record patient specific data during household surveys and eye camps. SERVIS bagged Vodafone
India’s Mobile for Good awards 2014, for driving social change through technological solution.
IT’S MORE THAN VISION It’s the ability to learn in the classroom with her peers
Pragyan is an 8-year-old
girl who had discontinued
school when she was
blinded due to cataract.
Kalinga Eye Hospital,
Dhenkanal, an Orbis
partner hospital identified
and treated her. Today, her
sight has been restored
and she has resumed her
school. Pragyan is
overjoyed on being able to
see and study again!
Upcoming events
23rd – 24th Jan 2016
"Ophtha - Fusion 2016" 5th Annual Conference of Jaipur Ophthalmological Society in Association with IIRSI at
Hotel Lalit, Jaipur.
30th Jan – 1st Feb 2016
"Optic India 2016" Exhibition on Ophthalmic Optics at CIDCO, Mumbai.
5th – 6th Feb 2016
Workshop on Competency Based Assessment for the Optometry Cadre at Orbis India, New Delhi.
5th – 9th Feb 2016
World Ophthalmology Congress (WOC) 2016 at Guadalajara, Mexico.
25th – 28th Feb 2016
74th All India Ophthalmological Society Conference at Science City & Milan Mela, Kolkata.
26th – 28th Feb 2016
European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS) at Athens, Greece.
31st March - 03rd April, 2016
7th World Congress on Controversies in Ophthalmology (COPHy) at Warsaw, Poland.
24th – 27th March 2016
31st Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology Congress (APAO 2016) at Taipei, Taiwan.
6th – 10th April 2016
42nd Annual Meet of American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus at Vancouver, Canada.
15th – 17th April 2016
67th Annual Conference of Delhi Ophthalmology Society at New Delhi.
01st – 05th May 2016
Annual Meeting of Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology at Seattle, United States.
24th – 26th May 2016
Annual Congress of Royal College of Ophthalmology at Birmingham, United Kingdom.
01st – 04th Jun 2016
XIV International Congress of Cataract and Refractive Surgery at São Paulo, Brazil.
19th – 23rd June 2016
12th European Glaucoma Society Congress at Prague, Czech Republic.
Upcoming events
India Country Office,
6th Floor, Fortune Tower II, Plot No.
406, Udyog Vihar Phase III, Gurgaon,
Haryana - 122016, India
Tel: 91-124-4284601
Fax: 91-124-4284602
Email: [email protected]
We are an International not-for-profit organization
working for eye care. Our programs focus on the
prevention of blindness and the treatment of
blinding eye disease specially among children.
We have been working in India for over a decade and
have established the world’s largest network of
Children’s Eye Centers in any one country; 31 centers
across 17 states.
When we can see, it can be easy to take our vision for
granted. But giving vision to someone who doesn't have
it is life-changing. And we change lives!
Orbis International
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