Orbis Flying Hospital returns to Bangladesh in Nov next year

Orbis Flying Eye Hospital, the world's only ophthalmic teaching hospital on board an MD-10 aircraft, will land in Bangladesh in November next year to conduct training on ophthalmology, said a press release.

This marks the flying hospital's 11th visit to Bangladesh since 1985. 

"This time the focus of the training programme would be women leadership in ophthalmology," said Orbis Country Director Dr Munir Ahmed at a consultative meeting on the "11th Flying Eye Hospital (EFH) Training Programme 2024" held at Pan Pacific Sonargaon hotel in the capital on Tuesday.

The flying eye hospital's visits to Bangladesh on 10 occasions in its 40 years of operation manifests the importance of human resource development in the ophthalmic field, added Dr Munir.

Prof AHM Enayet Hussain, the president of the Ophthalmological Society of Bangladesh (OSB), who chaired the meeting, suggested that a greater number of women would be engaged in hands-on training and symposiums under the 11th EFH training programme.

Prof Deen Mohd Noorul Huq, former DGHS director general, said that the FEH training programme has made a huge contribution to the eye care sector of Bangladesh that has gone through "a silent revolution" over the last decades.

The FEH training programme allows the clinical team and world-leading volunteer faculty (medical experts) to travel the world sharing knowledge and developing the skills of eye care professionals in the communities that need it most. 

Prof Ava Hossain, the president of the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO) and the seniormost ophthalmologist in the country, said her involvement with the FEH training programme has immensely helped her acquire advanced knowledge and surgical skills in eye care and excel in the field. 

She suggested offering training on advanced techniques of eye surgery in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons (BCPS) President Prof Mohammod Shahidullah recommended the inclusion of advanced training related to newborns and children with eye problems during the training.

Ophthalmological Society of Bangladesh (OSB) Secretary General Prof Dipak Kumar Nag, BSMMU Professor Nuzhat Choudhury, and Orbis Bangladesh Associate Directors Dr Lutful Husain and Iqbal Hossain, were among others at the meeting organised by Orbis International.

The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital is a state-of-the-art teaching facility equipped with operating rooms, classrooms and recovery rooms being operated since 1982. Since its first visit to Bangladesh in 1985, the FEH has imparted training to the country's ophthalmologists, ophthalmic nurses and biomedical technicians who have helped shape the eye care sector.

The flying hospital last visited Bangladesh in 2017.