A story of ingenuity
in challenging times

Like so many NGOs, sudden and severe cuts to the UK Aid budget left some of our projects unfunded and in jeopardy.

I'm sad to say that the real-life impact of these cuts was felt in places in urgent need of eye care, like Mymensingh, Bangladesh and Gedeo in Ethiopia. However, we still managed to implement 16 projects in Asia and Africa.

And we've been able to mitigate the effects of the cuts by reallocating funds and collaborating with others to find solutions.

The most significant of these collaborations was with fellow NGO Sightsavers in Ethiopia, whose financial input contributed to the delivery of 8.1 million doses of trachoma antibiotics in Ethiopia, nearly 3 million more than planned (see page 10).

And thanks to further longstanding partnerships we expect to restart many stalled programmes in 2022.

The pandemic continued to disrupt sight-saving eye care programmes in 2021. School closures in Nepal prevented eye screening activities from taking place as normal.

But Orbis partners developed a 'dual screening' approach, giving children access to eye care at school and following up with their parents and families at home. We're delighted to report that, in total, more than 1 million screenings were carried out, 30% more than our target (see page 8), giving thousands more children a better chance to realise their potential.

Much of our training in 2021 focused on supporting health professionals like Sarita from Nepal (see page 13). Sarita is a shining example of how sharing expertise can set young optometrists on their sight-saving career journeys.

We have also shared practical knowledge to help deliver eye care in Covid-safe ways. Nowhere has this been more critical than in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, with frontline health workers. We continue to help meet the urgent need for eye care in this region, which, since 2018, has hosted more than 1 million forcibly displaced Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. Please take a moment to read Zamir's story on page 11 to understand the life-changing effects of affordable cataract surgery for people living in Cox's Bazar.

Despite some unavoidable setbacks to our programmes, we remain in good health financially, raising close to £6 million this year – our income being spread across legacies, individuals, trusts, foundations, corporate partners and statutory funds. This financial stability has underpinned a thriving team here in the UK, who have continued to show remarkable instincts to adapt to a fast-moving and challenging development landscape.

We're particularly proud of our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) working group, which has introduced a range of initiatives, including awareness‑raising of race inequality, unconscious bias training and anonymised recruitment. As we enter 2022, our board of trustees is now predominantly female, and we operate hybrid working to accommodate the needs and wishes of all staff.

The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital will return to the skies this year, carrying out vital specialist training sessions. It will also mark its 40th anniversary. Since 1982, it has delivered 316 programmes in more than 95 countries, providing urgently needed access to eye care for millions of people around the world.