Ueltschi, chairman of FlightSafety International and of the ORBIS International Board of Directors. The global call for action was launched with a $10 million lead gift from A.L. ORBIS Global Ambassador of Sight Sir Richard Branson led the official countdown to turn off the lights and delivered remarks. Upon their return, the building’s tower shone blue and white in honor of ORBIS. In recognition of the 28 million people around the world who are needlessly blind, the tower lights of the Empire State Building were turned off for 28 minutes at 20:20 (8:20 p.m. To make more people aware that the vast majority of this suffering can be prevented, the Empire State Building joined ORBIS in a global call for action and a new appeal was launched. He addressed the UN gathering about the growing crisis of blindness.Įvery minute, a child goes blind, and every five minutes an adult loses sight to cataract, trachoma, glaucoma or other blinding conditions. His Excellency Girma Wolde-Giorgis, president of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, was the evening’s keynote speaker. has generously donated more than $17 million worth of the antibiotic Zithromax to ORBIS, which through a partnership with the International Trachoma Initiative is being distributed to save the sight of hundreds of thousands of people. One focus in Ethiopia has been the prevention and treatment of trachoma, one of the world’s leading causes of blindness. On behalf of those people in Ethiopia and around the world whose eyesight has been saved, I thank the ORBIS volunteer doctors who choose to be away from their families and to forsake the comfort of their homes in order to treat those in need.” “ORBIS has worked tirelessly to eliminate this painful and debilitating disease. “In my country alone, no less than 10 million people are afflicted by active trachoma, a highly contagious blinding disease that is fast spreading,” Wolde-Giorgis said. Seventy-five percent of blindness could be prevented or cured if the eye care so plentiful in the United States was widely available in countries like Ethiopia. He addressed the UN gathering about the growing crisis of blindness, which afflicts more than 37 million lives today, nearly all in developing nations. Throughout the world, governments and ministers of health have been inspired to join forces and direct their influence and resources to bring sight to millions of people.” “During this time, enduring professional friendships have been forged. “For a quarter of a century, we’ve built a global network of committed people who share the goal of alleviating human suffering,” said Oliver Foot, ORBIS International president and executive director. More than 80 heads of state and the past three secretaries-general of the United Nations have praised ORBIS as a unique diplomatic ambassador, promoting peace and cooperation between nations. Through its work, millions of people who were once blind can now see. Bloomberg proclaimed March 1 “ORBIS Day” in New York City.īest known for operating the world’s only Flying Eye Hospital, ORBIS is dedicated to saving sight worldwide. In honor of the milestone, Mayor Michael R. Hundreds of diplomats, business leaders and healthcare professionals gathered at the United Nations on March 1 to celebrate ORBIS International’s 25th anniversary. Ueltschi, chairman of FlightSafety International and the ORBIS Board of Directors, launched a global call for action with a $10 million lead gift. At a celebration at the United Nations on March 1 to celebrate ORBIS International’s 25th anniversary, A.L.
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