The Impact of Vision Loss and the ICOFoundation
On this page:
- The Challenge: Worldwide Visual Impairment
- International Council of Ophthalmology Foundation,
functioning as the World Ophthalmology Foundation
- International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) & International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies (IFOS)
- Programs Supported by the ICOFoundation
The Challenge: Worldwide Visual Impairment
- Throughout the world, 161 million people are severely visually impaired, and of these 37 million people are blind.
- World Health Organization data document that the burden of visual impairment and blindness is greatest in the least developed regions of the globe and the burden is greater, in all regions, among women than men.
- More than 1.4 million children are blind, but visual impairment and blindness are most prevalent in adults 50 years of age and older.
- Global vision loss is certain to increase due to population growth and aging unless effective action is taken.
- As much as 75% of worldwide vision loss is avoidable—either preventable or treatable—with currently available knowledge and biotechnology.
The world today presents extraordinary challenges in the context of extraordinary global connectedness. More than at any time in the history of human civilization, the well being of each individual is inextricably linked to that of every other.
The stark reality of extensive and avoidable visual impairment and blindness throughout the world compels a global initiative to promote best possible vision for every person.
2006 International Council of Ophthalmology and ICOFoundation Activities Include:
• 2006 World Ophthalmology Congress, São Paulo, Brazil. Attended by more than 12,000 participants from 120 countries
• Election of International Council of Ophthalmology Officers for 2006–2010.
President, Bruce E. Spivey, M.D. (United States)
Vice President, Akef El-Maghraby, M.D. (Saudi Arabia)
Secretary-General: Jean-Jacques C. DeLaey, M.D., Ph.D. (Belgium)
Treasurer: Yasuo Tano, M.D. (Japan)
• Worldwide Curricula for Ophthalmology Education. Published in November 2006 and posted on the Internet.
• Ophthalmology Program Directors Courses. Presented in Lima, Peru and Cairo, Egypt.
• Ophthalmology Training and Patient Care Demonstration Centers: Nigeria and China.
• Ophthalmology Knowledge Assessments. Conducted for more than 1500 registrants at 92 test centers in 61 countries.
• Ophthalmology Fellowships. Awarded to 57 ophthalmologists from developing countries.
International Council of Ophthalmology Foundation
The International Council of Ophthalmology Foundation (ICOFoundation, www.icofoundation.org), established in 2002, acts to support ophthalmic education, advocate quality eye care and advance scientific ophthalmology.
In 2006, the ICOFoundation augmented its governing body by election of four new Directors:
HRH Prince AbdulAziz Ahmad AbdulAziz AlSaud
President, Impact: Eastern Mediterranean Region
International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Jean-Jacques C. De Laey, M.D., Ph.D.
Secretary-General, International Council of Ophthalmology
Professor & Chairman,
Department of Ophthalmology
University of Ghent
Ghent, Belgium
Alice R. McPherson, M.D.
President, Retina Research Foundation
Professor of Ophthalmology
Baylor Eye Physicians & Surgeons
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas
Takakazu Morita
Chairman & CEO
Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Osaka, Japan
Functioning throughout the globe as the World Ophthalmology Foundation®, programs of the ICOFoundation are coordinated with the International Council of Ophthalmology and the International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies.
International Council of Ophthalmology and International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies
The International Council of Ophthalmology (Council, www.icoph.org) traces its origin to 1857 when 150 ophthalmologists from 24 countries convened in Brussels for the first International Congress of Ophthalmology. Since then, the Council has been responsible for organizing the periodic International Congress of Ophthalmology and for conducting global programs to advance ophthalmology education, patient care and research.
The International Council of Ophthalmology is the executive body of the International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies. As such, the Council is composed of members elected by Delegates of the International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies; members representing the Academia Ophthalmologica Internationalis, International Agency for Prevention of Blindness, ICOFoundation, and the major supranational ophthalmology societies; and members who are coordinators of the principal Council programs. The Council also gains substantial leadership from members of the Advisory Committee representing the ophthalmology subspecialties.
Uniquely representative of world ophthalmology, the International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies, registered as a nonprofit organization in Switzerland, is made up of the national ophthalmology societies of over 100 countries in Africa, Asia, Australia-Oceania, Europe, North America and South America.
Subspecialty ophthalmology organizations are increasingly important in the advance of ophthalmology, ophthalmic education and eye care worldwide. Accordingly, the International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies expanded membership in 2004 to include multinational subspecialty societies that fulfill specific criteria. Since then, more than 20 multinational subspecialty ophthalmology societies have become members of the International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies.
2006 World Ophthalmology Congress®
Organized by the International Council of Ophthalmology, the 2006 World Ophthalmology Congress® in São Paulo, Brazil, combined the XXX International Congress of Ophthalmology; the XXVI Pan-American Congress of Ophthalmology; and the XVII Brazilian Blindness Prevention and Visual Rehabilitation Congress. All components of the 2006 World Ophthalmology Congress® were united for the purpose of transmitting knowledge, stimulating discovery through research, and decreasing avoidable visual impairment and blindness.
With Dr. Rubens Belfort (Brazil) as President, the 2006 World Ophthalmology Congress® included an outstanding scientific and cultural program as well as the seminal Global Forum of Non-governmental Organizations working to preserve and restore vision. The Congress was attended by more than 12,000 participants from 120 countries. This underscores how our professional community has become global.
The 2008 World Ophthalmology Congress® in Hong Kong, China, will be led by Dr. Dennis S. C. Lam (China) as President. The Congress will combine the XXXI International Congress of Ophthalmology; the XXIII Congress of the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology; the XIII Congress of the Chinese Ophthalmological Society, and the XX Hong Kong Ophthalmological Symposium. In 2010, the World Ophthalmology Congress® will convene in Berlin, Germany, with Dr. Gerhard K. Lang (Germany) as President.
International Council of Ophthalmology Foundation Programs
As the World Ophthalmology Foundation®, the ICOFoundation enhances eye and vision care for people throughout the globe through support of the International Ophthalmology Strategic Plan to Preserve and Restore Vision — Vision for the Future.
Stemming from planning meetings in 1999 – 2001 conducted by the International Council of Ophthalmology, Academia Ophthalmologica Internationalis and consultants representing vision-related organizations, governmental agencies and the vision-care industry, Vision for the Future identified needs for ophthalmic education, guidelines for eye care, advocacy for preservation of vision and health-services research.
To review programs and plan future directions, the International Council of Ophthalmology conducted strategic planning with meetings in Zurich, Switzerland and Las Vegas, United States, as well as online reviews throughout 2006. Strategic planning re-affirmed the focus on ophthalmic education including knowledge assessments and fellowship training, emphasized the importance of eye and vision care guidelines, and refined actions in support of public advocacy and research for preservation of vision worldwide. The Council is committed to addressing the needs and opportunities identified in the 2006 Strategic Plan.
With actions that are intertwined with programs of the Council, like two strands of DNA, the ICOFoundation supports:
- Ophthalmic Knowledge Assessments
- Ophthalmic Fellowship Training
- Eye and Vision Care Guidelines
- Advocacy for Preservation of Vision
- Research in 0phthalmology and Vision
Follow the links in the list above for more information on each of these programs and how the ICOFoundation supports them.
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