Preventable blindness still affects an unacceptably high proportion of the world's population. The World Health Organization estimates that 28 million of the world's 37 million blind suffer from preventable blindness: that's a staggering 75.7% of the world's total population of blind people. The vast majority of the needlessly blind — 90% in fact — live in the developing world.

In 1982, a non-profit organization, ORBIS International was established. The goal of the organization is to increase access to vision care services in these countries, with the goal of eventually eliminating preventable blindness.

Dr Dan Neely (right) performs surgery aboard the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital, assisted by Dr Khauv (left). Drs Neely and Khauv had discussed this case for several weeks prior to surgery via Cyber Sight.

Since its inception, ORBIS has established an expanded presence in its five permanent country offices in Ethiopia, Bangladesh, India, Vietnam and China — nations where the need for blindness prevention efforts is considered to be greatest. More recently, the organization has begun establishing long-term projects in Latin America and the Caribbean, and is also exploring the possibility of collaborations with eye care institutions in the Eastern Mediterranean region.

The doctors discuss the critical elements of their surgery.

The organization's Flying Eye Hospital, which is operational for approximately eight to nine months of every year, visits developing countries for a period of two or three weeks. During this time, surgeries are performed in the on-board operating theatre, and training courses are conducted in the 48-seat classroom at the front of the aeroplane. This provides instant relief for patients in the greatest need (typically children, those who are bilaterally blind, and those who cannot afford to pay the cost of an operation), and equips the area's medical personnel with the means to continue to treat patients with the latest techniques.

The fellowship programme

In addition to the training programmes and the services provided by the Flying Eye Hospital, ORBIS also, in collaboration with its partner FedEx, offers fellowships to ophthalmologists from developing regions.

Dr Khauv is named the 2007 FedEx Fellow at the Cambodia programmes closing ceremony.

FedEx is ORBIS International's first Global Sponsor and a member of the ORBIS "Alliance for Sight" initiative — a consortium of global and international corporate and foundation sponsors, which offers support through financial donations and gifts in kind.

Dr Neely presents Dr Khauv with a special gift — text books hell need during his two-month fellowship.

Two FedEx fellowships are offered annually and these fellowships last from one to three months and take place at some of the world's leading eye care institutes.

Side bar: Enduring hardship to become Cambodias only pædiatric ophthalmologist

The fellowships are awarded during a Flying Eye Hospital programme, during which the medical director, medical staff, and ORBIS volunteer ophthalmologists conduct the review and selection process of all applicants. In some cases, the heads of local ophthalmology societies and local partner institutions are also involved in the selection process. The review represents the culmination of a month-long process, designed to promote the availability of the FedEx fellowship to local ophthalmologists. All fellowship applicants are pre-screened, and, in accordance with ORBIS policy, any fellows selected must meet International Congress of Ophthalmology standards.

Sidebar: The Cyber-Sight programme

The mission of the fellowship programme is to provide a boost to the developing world's ophthalmic expertise by enabling doctors from these regions to train with doctors from some of the world's leading eye institutes. The skills, knowledge and experience that the fellows gain from the fellowship is taken back with them to their home institutions and local communities, where it is needed the most.

The programme was launched in 2006; three fellows have since been named and have undertaken courses, and a further two will be designated annually for the next five years.

FedEx Fellow Dr Phara Khauv between surgeries aboard the Flying Eye Hospital

The fellowships are not aimed at any particular subspecialty, although — as the expansion of paediatric eye care services is a priority for ORBIS International — a number of the fellowships awarded are for the training of paediatric surgeons.

Previous FedEx Fellows include Dr Thomas Cherian of the Little Flower Hospital in Kerala, India, who completed his fellowship in the areas of retina, paediatric retina and retinopathy of prematurity at Moorfields Eye Hospital, UK, and Dr Nguyen Thanh Chi of Vietnam's Da Nang Eye Hospital, who studied paediatric ophthalmology at Stanford University, US.