International eye care charity Orbis UK have released their 2025 highlights video, revealing some of the incredible achievements their supporters helped make possible this year.

HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh attends Orbis UK’s Visionaries Reception

In Ethiopia, Orbis programmes continued to deliver sight-saving antibiotics, train local health workers and improve sanitation in the ongoing global fight against blinding trachoma – the leading cause of infectious blindness worldwide. Thanks to the dedicated work of eye care doctors and community workers, Orbis has now successfully eliminated the risk of trachoma across all three districts in Ethiopia’s Sheka region.
The charity’s state-of-the-art Flying Eye Hospital also carried out two vital missions, making an inaugural visit to Rwanda in July, before travelling to Ghana in the autumn. During its fourth trip to the African nation, Orbis’s iconic teaching hospital delivered expert simulation and surgical training in partnership with Ghanian eye care professionals and ophthalmologists.
Continuing their essential work across the African Continent, Orbis launched a major new programme in Zambia’s Northwestern Province, delivering over 140,000 eye assessments and giving 1.3 million people access to primary and secondary eye care. Determined to make sure that every child can see and succeed, Orbis also opened a new country office in Ghana, screening 250,000 children for eye conditions.
In London, Orbis marked one of the most important days in the global eye health calendar – World Sight Day – with an immersive public activation at King’s Cross Station. The charity turned eyes into art with their pop-up iris photography booth, where they were joined by activist and TV presenter Katie Piper, Escape to the Country host Sonali Shah and renowned ophthalmologists Sheraz Daya and John Ferris.
Demonstrating her continued commitment to ending avoidable blindness and vision loss globally, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh attended Orbis’s third annual Visionaries Reception at London’s Battersea Power Station. The landmark event saw Her Royal Highness join a panel of international eye care experts, addressing key issues such as access to eye care for women and children. “I would like to see that sight is seen as a primary objective of care, rather than an after-thought,” she reflected.
Commenting on a record year for the organisation, Orbis UK Director of Fundraising and Communications Colman Cawe, said: “Thanks to our incredible partners, supporters and teams on the ground, we’ve made amazing progress in eliminating preventable blindness as a global health issue. At Orbis, we’re driven by one goal, which is expanding access to life-changing eye care. Together with our supporters, we’ve delivered surgeries, glasses and training that have transformed thousands of lives. Thank you for helping us save sight worldwide.”
To learn more about Orbis and support the charity’s sight-saving work, visit: https://gbr.orbis.org/en