




ORBIS: ORBIS and Alcon Launch Pediatric Eye Care Program in India, and Gear Up for World Sight Day in Bangladesh
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - October 1, 2009) - Did you know that India accounts for nearly 20 percent of all blind children worldwide? ORBIS International's flagship Flying Eye Hospital arrived in Jaipur, India with its international team of volunteer eye care specialists and global sponsor Alcon, Inc. (
Dr. Hunter Cherwek, medical director, ORBIS International, says, "With the sponsorship of Alcon, this Flying Eye Hospital program complements ORBIS' Childhood Blindness Initiative in India, a program that aims to develop 50 pediatric ophthalmology centers across India by 2015, and prepares us to bring the issue of gender and eye care to the forefront of our program in Bangladesh during [ World Sight Day ]."
The Flying Eye Hospital program in India focuses on pediatric ophthalmology including glaucoma, cataracts, strabismus (squint) as well as adult cornea, oculoplastics and cataracts -- the leading cause of blindness worldwide. During the course of the program, the ORBIS medical team will transfer critical sight-saving skills to approximately 200 eye care professionals from local hospitals using hands-on surgical training, live surgical demonstrations, lectures and workshops. In addition to sponsoring the India program, Alcon engineers will volunteer their time to host a 3-day workshop for local engineers and other medical technicians on how to properly fix and maintain much needed opthalmic equipment.
Immediately following the India program, the Flying Eye Hospital will travel to Bangladesh for another two-week skills exchange program and to promote [ World Sight Day ], bringing the theme of gender to the forefront of its mission. With Alcon, ORBIS will organize specialized eye camps for women and girls, launch community advocacy programs and promote this important issue through a series of EyeReports ([ www.ORBIS-EyeReports.org ]) -- live reports from the field demonstrating the need and the process in which ORBIS delivers its programs.
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Tags/Keywords: ORBIS International, Alcon, World Sight Day, Eye Care, Vision, Blindness, Children, Gender, Kids, Eyes, Glaucoma, Cataracts, Strabismus
Links/URLS:
ORBIS Eye Reports:
Find out more on Childhood Blindness and India:
[ www.westglen.com/online/india blindness.pdf ]
ORBIS International Facebook Page:
[ http://www.facebook.com/ORBISInternational ]
ORBIS International Updates on Twitter:
[ http://twitter.com/ORBISIntl ]
ORBIS International YouTube:
[ http://www.youtube.com/user/ORBISInternational ]
ORBIS International MySpace Page: