[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 115 (Tuesday, July 31, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1352]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




COMMEMORATING ORBIS INTERNATIONAL FOR ITS 30 YEARS OF SAVING SIGHT AND 
                REBUILDING LIVES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. STENY H. HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 31, 2012

  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend ORBIS International, 
an organization that has been an outstanding member of the global 
community for 30 years. I am proud to recognize its invaluable service 
and contributions to some of the most vulnerable populations in the 
world.
  ORBIS International is a U.S.-based global health organization 
dedicated to saving sight and eliminating avoidable blindness in 
developing countries. Created in 1982, ORBIS has conducted over 1,000 
programs in 88 countries, trained over 288,000 healthcare professionals 
and touched the lives of 18 million children and adults. Today, we 
celebrate ORBIS International's 30 years of commitment to preserving 
and restoring sight by strengthening the capacity of local institutions 
in developing nations in their efforts to prevent and treat blindness.
  The story of ORBIS International is a remarkable one. A grant from 
USAID and funds from private donors enabled ORBIS to begin its mission 
by successfully converting a plane into a fully functional teaching eye 
hospital, and in 1982 it flew to Panama on its first training mission. 
Today, the world's only Flying Eye Hospital visits 6-8 nations each 
year conducting programs, training medical personnel, and providing eye 
care services.
  ORBIS is more than a Flying Eye Hospital with permanent programs and 
regional offices in the countries that have the highest prevalence of 
avoidable blindness. ORBIS has conducted more than 900 capacity 
building programs in its 30-year history. These capacity building 
programs were conducted through its six country and regional-based 
offices, the Flying Eye Hospital, and ORBIS' in-country, hospital-based 
training sessions.
  In addition to treating a number of diseases of the eye that can 
cause blindness, ORBIS is also working in Africa to eliminate trachoma, 
one of the seven Neglected Tropical Diseases. Trachoma, an infectious 
disease found predominantly in developing countries, starts as an 
infection and progresses to corneal scarring. ORBIS International 
teaches surgical techniques and treatment for trachoma in Ethiopia and 
other developing countries.
  Blindness has profound human and socioeconomic consequences. The 
costs of lost productivity and of rehabilitation and education of the 
blind constitute a significant economic burden for the individual, the 
family and society. Investments in avoidable blindness and visual 
impairment offer not only economic and social returns in global health, 
but they dramatically improve the quality of life of individuals and 
families. ORBIS International is a trusted partner in the global 
coalition of organizations fighting preventable blindness.
  ORBIS programs and partnerships provide the skills, infrastructure 
and on-going support to build the capacity and skills necessary to 
sustain care at a local level. As a founding member of Vision 2020: The 
Right to Sight, a campaign led by the World Health Organization and 
other leading blindness prevention organizations to eliminate avoidable 
blindness by the year 2020, ORBIS is dedicated to working in 
partnership to create a world free of needless blindness.
  I am honored to join ORBIS International in celebrating its 30 year 
commitment toward achieving its goal of a world in which no one is 
needlessly blind, and where quality eye care is available to everyone. 
I want to thank ORBIS International for the lives it has touched and 
its leadership in providing valuable health and training services 
across the globe.

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