Programs: Advocacy for Preservation and Restoration of Vision

On this page:

• Advocacy for Preservation and Restoration of Vision
  
  
• Worldwide Visual Impairment
  
  
• Causes of Worldwide Blindness
  
  
• World Ophthalmology Roundtable on Leadership Development (WORLD)
  
  
• More on Programs Supported by the ICOFoundation

Advocacy for Preservation and Restoration of Vision

In 2008, advocacy for preservation and restoration of vision advanced through actions by the World Health Assembly, increased public awareness of blindness prevention, and commencement of ICO World Ophthalmology Roundtable on Leadership Development (WORLD).

World Health Assembly

On May 21, 2009, the World Health Assembly, governing body of the World Health Organization (WHO), endorsed the WHO Action Plan for the Prevention of Avoidable Blindness and Visual Impairment (http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf). The plan aims to expand efforts by member states to prevent blindness by development of comprehensive eye health programs at national and sub-national levels. Adoption of the Action Plan is a major accomplishment that will provide additional unprecedented support for joint and collaborative efforts to improve eye health internationally.

Worldwide Visual Impairment

Led by Dr. Serge Resnikoff (France), advocacy by the ICO complements the WHO actions by drawing public awareness to the extent and causes of visual impairment. Worldwide, 161 million people are severely visually impaired due to eye disease. An additional 153 million people have severe visual impairment due to uncorrected refractive error and a total of 45 million of these people are blind. Causes of disease-related blindness as a percentage of total blindness vary by region and country. Cataract, however, continues to be the leading disease responsible for worldwide visual impairment and blindness.

Causes of Worldwide Blindness

Causes	Percent of total blindness
Cataract	47.8
Glaucoma	12.3
Age-related Macular Degeneration	8.7
Corneal Opacities	5.1
Diabetic Retinopathy	4.8
Childhood Blindness	3.9
Trachoma	3.9
Onchocerciasis	0.8
Other causes	13.0

World Ophthalmology Roundtable on Leadership Development (WORLD)

Initiated in 2007, ICO World Ophthalmology Roundtable on Leadership Development (WORLD) works to build present and future ophthalmologic leaders by encouraging community national and multi-national programs to enhance ophthalmology training, increase public support for eye care and encourage national and regional ophthalmologic societies.

WORLD meetings in 2008, sponsored by the ICO and the Middle East African Council of Ophthalmology (MEACO) encouraged ophthalmology leaders in Sub- Saharan Africa to take greater responsibility for the direction and management of group activities. Under leadership of Dr. Kunle Hassan (Nigeria), Sub-Saharan African leaders met in 2009 at Ibadan, Nigeria, for discussion of group actions to enhance ophthalmology training, build community programs and encourage governmental support of ophthalmology.

As a further activity, the WORLD Colloquium during the AAO meeting in San Francisco on October 24, 2009, brought leaders from countries throughout the world to a program on refocusing ophthalmic education and the increasing importance of ophthalmic subspecialties in the delivery of eye and vision care.

World Ophthalmology Roundtable on Leadership Development (WORLD) at Lagos, Nigeria on October 24–27, 2008. Leaders from 7 nations attended the meeting.

More on ICOFoundation programs:

• Ophthalmic Education and Training
  
  
• Ophthalmic Knowledge Examination
  
  
• Ophthalmic Fellowship Training
  
  
• Eye and Vision Care Guidelines
  
  
• Research in Ophthalmology and Vision

Next: Research in Ophthalmology and Vision

Also see:

• Contribute to the ICOFoundation
  
  
• Programs Supported by the ICOFoundation