This evening, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh joined international eye care charity Orbis for its fourth annual Visionaries reception at One Marylebone in central London. The Duchess has previously witnessed first-hand Orbis’s work in Ethiopia, Bangladesh, and India, in Her Royal Highness’s role as Global Ambassador for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, and has spoken passionately about the need to give everyone access to eye care.
During the event, The Duchess took part in a live demonstration of the charity’s virtual reality training technology, developed in partnership with Fundamental XR. The experience demonstrated how simulation allows eye care professionals to practise sight-saving surgery and to build confidence before treating patients. This approach is helping to address a global shortage of specialist eye surgeons, a major barrier to tackling cataract, the leading cause of blindness worldwide despite being highly treatable. More affordable and accessible than traditional training, it enables doctors to practise repeatedly and progress more quickly towards working independently. Already in use in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India and Mongolia, it is expanding access to advanced training where it is needed most. Other high-profile guests in attendance included Katie Piper OBE and Tom Davies.
Framed around the theme of life with and without vision, the Orbis Visionaries reception explored the realities of sight loss while showcasing innovative, sustainable solutions to expanding access to eye care globally. Today, more than one billion people worldwide are living with vision loss, yet 90% of cases are preventable or treatable. Most people affected live in low- and middle-income countries, where access to treatment is often limited with lifelong consequences.
The impact on children is particularly profound. In low-resource settings, those with sight loss are up to five times less likely to attend school. This can affect a child’s chances of finishing school and finding work later in life, with lasting consequences for their health, wellbeing and future opportunities.
Since 1982, Orbis has helped to save millions of people’s sight by bringing vital eye care to under-resourced communities, where quality services can be limited or out of reach. The charity trains eye health workers, supports vision clinics, and provides sight-saving treatment to those who need it most. Each year NHS workers are among the expert medical volunteers who help train eye health workers around the world. Orbis also operates the Flying Eye Hospital, the world’s only fully accredited ophthalmic teaching hospital on board a plane, which travels the globe training doctors and nurses and transforming lives.
Panel Discussion
The event opened with a panel discussion chaired by TV presenter, journalist and Orbis UK Ambassador Helen Fospero. The Duchess of Edinburgh was joined by Kathleen Sherwin, President & CEO of Orbis International, Dr Alemayehu Sisay, Country Director for Orbis Ethiopia, and John Ferris, Consultant Ophthalmologist and Orbis UK Trustee. Points from the panellists included:
Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh
“I have seen people dancing and praising God and in tears over a simple operation that will change their lives. I’ve travelled the world with Orbis and seen what they do on board the Flying Eye Hospital, but also the trainings they do virtually and in hospitals as well. It’s a wonderful trickle effect.”
Kathleen Sherwin, President & CEO, Orbis International
“Orbis’s work in communities is long-term and sustainable. We’re screening for eye conditions in schools, we’re setting up women-led green vision centres in communities, and we’re working with governments to strengthen health systems.”
Since 2013, Orbis has welcomed Her Royal Highness to projects across Asia and Africa, where she has seen first-hand the impact of its work. The Duchess first visited the Flying Eye Hospital in Kolkata, India, and later travelled to Dhaka and Chattogram, where she met local eye care teams in training and patients receiving treatment. In 2023, Her Royal Highness visited Hawassa, Ethiopia, where she witnessed the effort to eliminate trachoma, one of the world’s oldest and most preventable causes of infectious blindness, in action.
Building on this work, Orbis is continuing efforts to eliminate trachoma by 2030, delivering mass drug administrations, improving access to clean water and sanitation, and supporting surgery to treat the blinding stage of the disease. Alongside this, the charity is expanding access to eye care in underserved communities, providing tens of thousands of eye assessments, thousands of surgeries, and essential support such as glasses. This year, Orbis’s Flying Eye Hospital will also undertake two further sight-saving missions to Vietnam and Peru, helping train local teams and deliver care to those most in need.
OMEGA, a partner of Orbis since 2011, once again supported the Orbis Visionaries reception, helping to advance its sight-saving work worldwide. In addition to helping to fund the Flying Eye Hospital and driving global awareness through ambassadors such as Cindy Crawford and Daniel Craig, OMEGA donated a Speedmaster First Omega in Space for the evening’s silent auction.
