The Flying Eye Hospital delivers eye care world wide – next stop Zambia!
The Flying Eye Hospital is heading to Lusaka, Zambia at the end of September for its next sight-saving training project. For three weeks, Orbis will train local eye care teams to restore the sight of local children and adults living with vision loss.
Following a successful training project in Can Tho, Vietnam, earlier this year, the Flying Eye Hospital makes its next stop in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. On board the aircraft – a state-of-the-art medical teaching facility with an operating room, classroom, and recovery room eye health professionals from around Zambia will develop and reinforce their eye care skills through a supportive, carefully crafted training curriculum.
This Flying Eye Hospital program will aim to strengthen eye health in Zambia and focus on improving adult and paediatric care throughout the country. It is estimated that over 7% of the population is living with some form of vision loss.
Taking place over the course of three weeks, the project will include training sessions and workshops led by Orbis’s expert staff and Volunteer Faculty. Along with training held on board the Flying Eye Hospital, additional training activities will take place at Orbis’s partner hospital, University Teaching Hospitals-Eye Hospital, in Lusaka.
During the first week of the project surgical simulation training will be provided for ophthalmologists, nurses, and anaesthesiologists, helping to boost confidence and improve the quality of the hands-on training that follows.
The second and third weeks of the project will include live surgical training for eye conditions such as strabismus (squint), adult and child glaucoma, and cataract – the leading cause of blindness in Zambia. Additionally, a biomedical engineering workshop will be provided to engineers and technicians during the second week.
Our Flying Eye Hospital team are thrilled to welcome local trainers from Zambia who will be sharing their skills and expertise with colleagues from across the country.
“This is the first time Zambian ophthalmologists trained through Orbis-sponsored and other fellowships will work alongside Flying Eye Hospital staff and Volunteer Faculty to deliver simulation training to ophthalmology residents,” says Dr. Maria Montero, Associate Director of Clinical Services on board the Flying Eye Hospital. “It is fantastic to see the dedication and expertise shown by local teams, and their desire to pass this on to the next generation of ophthalmologists in their home country.”
The critical training provided through the Flying Eye Hospital project gives local doctors the skills they need to treat sight-stealing conditions and restore the vision of children and adults in their communities for years to come.
