Far-sighted

The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital (FEH), a mobile ophthalmological care unit stationed inside an aircraft, recently made its 16th visit to India, at Kolkata. The mobile hospital, run by Orbis International, a New York-based non-profit organisation dedicated to saving eyesight, is supported by sponsors, Alcon Foundation and FedEx. The flight is equipped with its own surgical unit and has a 23-member staff onboard. FEH has also tied up with local Indian eye hospitals such as Sankara Nethralaya and Disha Eye Hospital to provide ophthalmological training to medical professionals. As for results, people can see for themselves. From its inception in 2002, FEH’s India Childhood Blindness Initiative has reached out to more than 5.9 million children and provided ophthalmic treatment to over a million in the country.