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International Council of Ophthalmology Foundation

The Impact of Vision Loss and the ICOFoundation

Needs and Opportunities for Worldwide Eye Care

Greater than ever before, the needs and opportunities for worldwide eye care stem from population growth and aging, advances in ophthalmic science, global planning, and the vital role of vision in the quality of life.

Great and Growing Need for Eye Care

Worldwide, 314 million people are severely visually impaired and of these, 45 million are blind. The burden of lost sight is uneven with nearly 87% of the world’s visually impaired living in developing countries. More than 1.4 million children are blind, but visual impairment and blindness are most prevalent in adults 50 years of age and older and females are more at risk at every age, in every part of the world. (Ref. 1. World Health Organization, www.who.int/mediacentre).

Adding to this burden, the worldwide population is projected to increase in number and, even more significantly, advance in age. Between 2000 and 2030 in the United States, for example, the number of people age 65 years and older will increase from 35 million to more than 71 million. (Ref. 3 Lee P. Into the Looking Glass: Factors and Opportunities to Reshape Eye Care in the Next 25 Years, Ophthalmol 2007;14(1):1–2). With each decade of increased age over age 40, the prevalence of vision loss and blindness increases three-fold (Ref. 4 Taylor, HR. Eye Care: Dollars and Sense. Am J Ophthalmol 2007;143:1–8).

Advances in Ophthalmic Science

At least 75% of disease-related vision loss and nearly 100% of visual impairment due to refractive error are avoidable—either preventable or treatable—with currently available knowledge and biotechnology. (Ref. 5 Global Initiative for the Elimination of Avoidable Blindness. World Health Organization/PBL/97.61) Intense efforts to control onchocerciasis with vector elimination and treatment of 40 million people in 16 countries have greatly decreased the occurrence of onchocerciasis, the dreaded “River Blindness.” Scientific discovery, innovative technology and clinical trials—including gene therapy trials—document increasingly effective medical and surgical means to prevent visionloss caused by cataract, glaucoma, childhood eye disease, diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration and a host of other conditions.

Vision-related Quality of Life

Increasingly, the impact of vision on quality of life is recognized. In the brain of each of us, nearly one-third of the cerebral cortex—the thin surface layer of 20 billion neurons responsible for language, consciousness and reasoning—is devoted to vision (Ref. 6 Nyberg, KA. An Early Start for the Thinking Brain, Yale Medicine, Winter 2007, page 10). Cortical cells joined through neural paths to the intricacies of the eye form the visual system that is the primary sense we rely on in our daily lives. Vision contributes to learning, mobility, perception and the quality of life.

The world today presents extraordinary challenges in the context of increasing economic, environmental and geopolitical interdependency. More than at any time in the past, the well being of each individual is inexorably linked to that of every other. The reality of extensive and avoidable visual impairment and blindness throughout the world compels a global initiative to realize the opportunities for measures to promote the best possible vision for every person.

The reality of extensive and avoidable visual impairment and blindness throughout the world compels global action to obtain the best possible vision for every person.

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 through support of International Council of Ophthalmology programs.

In 2009, the ICOFoundation acknowledged, with profound sadness, the death of Prof. Yasuo Tano of Osaka, Japan on January 31st. Prof. Tano, a founding member of the ICOFoundation Board of Directors, was a worldwide leader of ophthalmology and a highly respected colleague. At the time of his death, Prof. Tano was President of the Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology, Treasurer of the International Council of Ophthalmology, Immediate Past President of the Japanese Ophthalmological Society and Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at Osaka University.

As an enduring memorial, the ICOFoundation joined the ICO in establishing the “ICO Yasuo Tano International Fellowship.” This fellowship is to be awarded each year to an ophthalmologist from a developing country selected by the ICO International Fellowship Committee to complete a fellowship in Japan.

The Foundation is pleased to report that Stephen Ryan, M.D., President of the Doheny Eye Institute and Grace and Emery Beardsley Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles is the new ICOFoundation President as of January 1, 2011.

ICOFoundation Officers for 2011 are:

Stephen Ryan, M.D., President
Alfred Sommer, M.D., M.H.S., Vice President
Bruce Spivey, M.D., M.Ed., Secretary-Treasurer

ICOFoundation Board of Directors Meeting in Atlanta on October 25, 2009

International Council of Ophthalmology

Tracing its origin to the first International Congress of Ophthalmology in 1857, the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO; www.icoph.org), registered as a nonprofit organization in Switzerland, is composed of the national ophthalmology societies of over 100 countries and more than 25 multinational ophthalmology subspecialty societies. Uniquely representative of world ophthalmology, the ICO Board of Trustees, Advisory Committee and Program Leaders met in San Francisco, California on October 21–23, 2009. With broad discussion, the ICO moved vigorously in 2009 to address the theme of refocusing ophthalmic education, meet the needs of people with uncorrected refractive error and prepare for the 2010 World Ophthalmology Congress®

Refocusing Ophthalmic Education
Led by Dr. Bruce Spivey (United States), ICO President, and Dr. Mark Tso (United States and China), ICO Education Committee Chair, Refocusing Ophthalmic Education recognizes the change in medical education from emphasis on duration of training to assessment of competence in specific areas such as medical knowledge, patient communication and surgical skills. Refocusing Ophthalmic Education also incorporates the principles of adult learning and the increasing availability of print, video and Internet resources for learning.

Uncorrected Refractive Error
The World Health Organization estimates that 153 million people have visual impairment due to uncorrected refractive error. With Dr. Muhammad Babar Qureshi (Pakistan) as Chair, the ICO Task Force on Uncorrected Refractive Error developed a strategic plan. Based on this plan, the Task Force began pilot projects in Pakistan and Uganda, sponsored by Light For The World, in 2009.

The ICO Task Force on Uncorrected Refractive Error also completed the final stages of planning for a major program to address uncorrected refractive error through schools in Pakistan and Nigeria. Sponsored by Light For The World, this extensive program for children (age 5–15 years) is a major undertaking to screen, measure refractive error and provide corrective eyeglasses to enhance learning and quality of life.

2012 and 2014 World Ophthalmology Congress®
Planning the biennial World Ophthalmology Congress® is a multiyear task. For example, site selection, Congress leadership and partnership discussions for the 2010 World Ophthalmology Congress® began in 2004. In similar manner, planning is ongoing for the 2012 World Ophthalmology Congress® in Abu Dhabi and the 2014 World Ophthalmology Congress® in Tokyo.

World Ophthalmology Congress®

Organized by the International Council of Ophthalmology, the 2010 World Ophthalmology Congress® (www.woc2010.org) in Berlin, Germany on June 5–9, 2010, combined the XXXII International Congress of Ophthalmology, the 108th Congress of the German Ophthalmological Society, and the 2010 German Academy of Ophthalmology Meeting. Congress President, Dr. Gerhard Lang (Germany), Program Director, Dr. Gabriele Lang (Germany), Scientific Program Chair, Dr. Stephen Ryan (United States), and colleagues organized an outstanding scientific program with subspecialty days for cataract surgery, refractive surgery, glaucoma, pediatric ophthalmology and retina. Illustrating the subspecialties, the world’s experts participated in symposia, presentations and exhibits.

Highlighting the theme of Refocusing Ophthalmic Education, the World Ophthalmic Education Colloquium featured symposia on Medical Student Education, Resident Program Development, Training Para-ophthalmic Personnel, Continuing Professional Development and Teaching Ophthalmic Subspecialties. Emphasizing the application of education to the ultimate goal of preserving and restoring vision, Vision 2020 Symposia entitled Reviewing Progress in Preventing Avoidable Blindness Worldwide, Challenges in Building Comprehensive Eye Care Within a Health Care System and Combating Refractive Error From School Age Through Presbyopia. In aggregate, the 2010 World Ophthalmology Congress® incorporated over 600 sessions and presentations by more than 3,000 of the world’s vision-related scientists.

To extend educational benefits of the Congress, the ICO and ICOFoundation have presented selected symposia, lectures and presentations, as well as highlights of the World Ophthalmic Education Colloquium on www.icoph.org for open viewing.

The 2012 World Ophthalmology Congress® will convene in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and the 2014 World Ophthalmology Congress® will be held in Tokyo, Japan.

International Council of Ophthalmology Foundation Programs

ICO and ICOFoundation programs take origin from International Ophthalmology Strategic Plan to Preserve and Restore Vision — Vision for the Future published in 2001 and progressively revised in meetings during 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Actions as closely coordinated as the two strands of DNA enabled the ICO and ICOFoundation to advance education, training and eye care programs in 2009. Major activities focus on Ophthalmic Education and Training, Ophthalmic Knowledge Examinations, Ophthalmology Fellowship Training, Ophthalmology Training and Eye Care Centers, Correction of Refractive Error, Eye and Vision Care Guidelines, Advocacy for Preservation of Vision, and Research in Ophthalmology and Vision.

Of benefit to all programs, the ICOFoundation is working with the ICO to enhance communication through information technology and continuous updating of the ICO website (www.icoph.org). The Internet is the hallway for global education, advocacy and improvement of eye care worldwide.

ICO and ICOFoundation Programs: