The non-profit organization Unite for Sight will be holding the fourth annual International Health Conference at the Stanford School of Medicine this weekend. The conference will feature 300 speakers and will attract 1,500 attendees from five different continents.

The organization was founded by current Med School student Jennifer Staple when she was an undergraduate at Yale University.

“The goal of the conference is to exchange ideas across disciplines,” Staple said. “I’m very excited for it to be here after a year of planning.”

Unite for Sight works to prevent treatable blindness internationally. It combines volunteer programs in the United States with partner eye clinics overseas in Ghana, Thailand and India, which it funds and staffs with volunteers. The local Palo Alto chapter of Unite for Sight is active on campus, and involved students are currently working with the Office of Student Activities to gain official recognition.

At the conference, Staple said, opthomologists and optometrists from around the world will join a number of speakers on international health and development. Notable speakers will include Jefferey Sachs and Christopher Elias of Path.

According to Staple, a number of Stanford students associated with the Palo Alto chapter of the organization will volunteer at the conference, which will be held in the Medical School’s Fairchild Auditorium, the Always Building and the Clark Center.