The FedEx-sponsored ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital has launched a comprehensive eye care programme inGuangzhou, southern China, this week to help combat preventable and treatable blindness among
children.The Flying Eye Hospital (FEH), a converted former FedEx DC-10 cargo plane, is the world’s onlyophthalmic surgical and training hospital with wings and is sponsored by FedEx under a long-termagreement.
The programme aims to lay the foundation for developing a referral network of rural hospitalsthat will have the capacity to deliver comprehensive eye care services with the long-term supportof specialists from Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center (ZOC) and Guangzhou Children’s Hospital. During thetwo-week programme, Flying Eye Hospital staff, county level doctors, nurses and technicians willhave the opportunity to work side-by-side with leading international specialists and experts fromZOC and Guangzhou Children’s Hospital. They will also participate in skills-exchange programmes andseminars aimed at improving the quality of available eye care services.
It is the 38th Flying Eye Hospital programme in China and the second time the plane is visitingGuangzhou. ORBIS has supported programmes in Guangdong Province for 30 years, and its new,long-term project, the Comprehensive Rural Eye Service Training (CREST) program in collaborationwith ZOC, is aimed at establishing a network of comprehensive pediatric and adult vision care inthe province.
China accounts for 18% of the world’s blind, and of the one million children suffering fromblindness in Asia, approximately 400,000 live in China. Despite recent industrial growth andeconomic expansion in its capital city, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province has the second highestblindness rate in China. Problems with accessibility, affordability, variety and quality of eyecare services are reflected in the major gaps between urban and rural areas. There are 753,000visually disabled people in the Province according to the 2009-2010 Blindness Prevention Plan,Guangdong and some 22% of children aged three to seven suffer from impaired vision. Despite thegrowing need for pediatric eye care services, the availability of pediatric ophthalmologists inGuangzhou and throughout the province is limited.
“Since the first visit of the FEH to Guangzhou 30 years ago, ZOC has become a leading centre ofophthalmic excellence and we are happy to be able to bring the FEH program back to Guangzhou tocelebrate our collaboration and continue our commitment to strengthening the capacity of eye careprofessionals and services throughout China,” said David Johnson, Flying Eye Hospital Director. “With the generous support of FedEx, our long-term global sponsor, and working together with ourhost partners, the FEH programme will help launch a five-year programme aimed at establishing anetwork of comprehensive vision care in Guangdong Province, while continuing our high-levelpediatric eye care skills exchange in Guangzhou.”
“For the past three decades, FedEx has helped the ORBIS Flying Eye Care Hospital programmeimprove the skills of eye care professionals around the world, by providing and training volunteerpilots to fly the plane, sponsoring fellowship programmes for promising ophthalmologists andopening the door to our unparalleled aviation expertise,” said Eddy Chan, senior vice president,FedEx China. “FedEx has supported ORBIS and the Flying Eye Hospital since the first programme inGuangzhou in 1982 and we are very proud to be part of and to celebrate the FEH’s return 30 yearslater.”
FedEx said it has supported ORBIS for 30 years, providing millions of dollars of cash andin-kind contributions. In 2011, the company renewed a $5.5 million, five-year commitment made toORBIS in 2006. This includes the extension of the FedEx Fellows Program that provides anopportunity for talented local doctors to receive the continuing medical education needed toaddress leading causes of avoidable blindness within their countries.
ORBIS benefits from the unparalleled FedEx global network and its aviation expertise to helpthe Flying Eye Hospital remain aloft. FedEx Express pilots volunteer to fly the ORBIS DC-10 to manyof its medical programmes and train other volunteer pilots, FedEx Express mechanics providemaintenance support, and FedEx Express team members around the world volunteer as part of the ORBIShumanitarian team as interpreters, welcoming and escorting patients to and from their surgeries,and assisting with patient screenings. FedEx also provides complimentary transportation services tomove critically needed medical supplies to ORBIS clinics and programmes worldwide, makes the FedExExpress flight training simulator available to train volunteer pilots, and supports annual safetychecks for ORBIS’ flagship Flying Eye Hospital.
