About the ICO/IFOS:

Primary Programs and Initiatives

Listed below are the primary programs and initiatives of the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO), with links to the sections of the Eye Site where you can find out more, including how to contact those responsible for each program.

(Also see: More Programs and Initiatives)

You can also download a listing of ICO Programs and Iniatives as a PDF file (203 KB).

On this page:

• International Congress of Ophthalmology
  
  
• ICO International Basic and Clinical Assessments for Ophthalmologists
  
  
• IFOS/ICO International Fellowship
  
  
• Vision for the Future: International Ophthalmology Strategic Plan to Preserve and Restore Vision
  
  
• ICO International Clinical Guidelines
  
  
• International Standards for Vision and Eye Care
  
  
• ICO Ophthalmic Education
  
  
• Support for Training Ophthalmologists in Nigeria
  
  
• Courses for Directors of Residency Programs
  
  
• Atlas of Ophthalmology

(Also see: More ICO Programs and Initiatives)

World Ophthalmology Congress

First held in Brussels in 1857, the International Congress of Ophthalmology is the longest continuing international meeting in all of medicine.

Now also called the World Ophthalmology Congress, it features a comprehensive scientific program focused on the latest advances in ophthalmology and eye care, presented by world leaders in research and clinical practice.

More than 12,000 registrants from 120 countries participated in the XXX International Congress of Ophthalmology, February 19 - 24, 2006 in São Paulo, Brazil.

The next World Ophthalmology Congress, the XXXI International Congress of Ophthalmology will be June 28 – July 2, 2008 in Hong Kong.

Future World Ophthalmology Congresses are scheduled in Berlin (2010) and Chicago (2012).

ICO International Basic and Clinical Assessments for Ophthalmologists

Each year, the ICO offers examinations throughout the world to help ophthalmologists evaluate and demonstrate their knowledge in the basic and clinical sciences related to ophthalmology.

Coordinated by Peter Watson, FRCS, FRCOphth, the ICO International Basic Science Assessment for Ophthalmologists and International Clinical Sciences Assessment are broadly accepted and used in a variety of ways by national organizations and residency programs.

More than 12,000 candidates have taken the ICO International Assessments since 1995, including more than 1530 ophthalmologists who sat for the Assessments in 2006 at 92 test centers in 61 countries around the world.

The Assessments are offered early in April each year, and the deadline for applications is January 31 of that year.

IFOS/ICO International Fellowship

The IFOS/ICO International Fellowship was established in 2001 to help young ophthalmologists, especially those from developing nations, improve their practical skills and broaden their perspectives of ophthalmology.

The Fellowships generally last three months, and fellows are expected to bring the acquired knowledge and skills back to their country of origin and take part in programs to preserve and restore vision in their country.

Fellowships have been awarded to 198 ophthalmologists from 58 countries. Fellowships are now available from more than 60 ophthalmology departments and programs in 27 countries around the world.

Deadlines to apply for IFOS/ICO International Fellowships are March 31 and September 30 of each year.

Vision for the Future: International Ophthalmology Strategic Plan to Preserve and Restore Vision

From 1999 to 2001, the ICO, Academia Ophthalmologica Internationalis and consultants representing other vision-related organizations met in a series of conferences to define a strategic plan for international ophthalmology.

The resulting Vision for the Future: International Ophthalmology Strategic Plan to Preserve and Restore Vision identified critical needs for ophthalmic education, guidelines for eye care, advocacy and health services research in order to decrease avoidable vision loss and blindness around the world.

The ICO is coordinating implementation of the Vision for the Future and has set up Committees and task forces with various responsibilities, many described below.

ICO International Clinical Guidelines

Vision for the Future called for the development of guidelines to define specifically what constitutes appropriate eye care and to promote achievement of a universal high standard of quality.

Recognizing that "appropriate eye care" is resource dependent and based on the culture, economic environment and health services system of a region or country, the ICO has defined International Clinical Guidelines that are intended to serve a supportive and educational role for ophthalmologists worldwide and to improve the quality of eye care for patients.

There are currently 20 International Clinical Guidelines available, with additional Guidelines in preparation covering the most prevalent eye conditions and diseases around the world. ICO Guidelines Director is Richard L. Abbott, MD.

International Standards for Vision and Eye Care

In 2006, the Council approved a report on "Vision Requirements for Driving Safety" prepared by ICO Committee on Standards Chairman Jean-Jacques DeLaey, MD, and Standards Committee Member August Colenbrander, MD.

It can be downloaded as a PDF file from www.icoph.org/pdf/visionfordriving.pdf (376 KB).

In 2002, the ICO and IFOS adopted a resolution on "Visual Standards - Aspects and Ranges of Vision Loss" to encourage consistent measurement and reporting of vision loss in population surveys around the world.

The World Health Organization is incorporating parts of the ICO's resolution into the revised International Classification of Diseases - ICD-10.

Ophthalmic Education

International ophthalmology's Vision for the Future emphasized the critical role that international ophthalmology could play in the education of ophthalmologists and other eye care providers to meet public needs around the world.

Mark O. M. Tso, MD, chairs the ICO's Education Committee, which has multinational task forces that have defined the following draft curricula and guidelines for ophthalmic education:

• curricula for education of allied eye care providers (www.icoph.org/pdf/icocurricpara.pdf - 334 KB)
  
  
• guidelines for continuing medical education in ophthalmology (www.icoph.org/pdf/icocurriccme.pdf - 220 KB).

Also available are newly revised versions of curriculum guidelines for:

• residency training in ophthalmology (www.icoph.org/pdf/icocurricres.pdf - 310 KB)
  
  
• ophthalmic education of medical students (www.icoph.org/pdf/icocurricmed.pdf - 202 KB).

The ICO encourages ophthalmologic societies and residency programs to translate and adapt these curricula as needed and use them as basis for enhancing ophthalmic education.

Support for Training Ophthalmologists in Nigeria

In spring of 2004, Council members visited residency programs and met with ophthalmologic leaders and the Minister of Health in Nigeria. Since then, ICO leaders and Nigerian ophthalmologists have defined responsibility for short-, medium- and long-term action to be taken to strengthen residency training.

There has been significant progress on implementation. For example, with financial support provided by the ICO and ICO Foundation, Council member Daniel Etya'ale, MD, of the World Health Organization, has purchased the computers and services needed to establish six Resource Centers for residency programs in Nigeria with broadband Internet connections.

This pilot project in Nigeria is intended to provide a model and inspiration for initiatives to enhance residency training elsewhere in West Africa and around the world.

Courses for Directors of Residency Programs

The ICO is sponsoring five regional courses for ophthalmology residency program directors in 2006 and 2007:

• March 23 – 24, 2006 in Lima, Peru for residency directors from Peru, Bolivia and other nearby countries
• June 15 – 16, 2006 in Cairo for directors from Egypt and neighboring countries
• February 27 - 28 in Lahore, Pakistan, in conjunction with the Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology Congress
• July 2007 in Buenos Aires, for residency directors from Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay
• September 1 - 2 in Brazilia, Brazil, co-sponsored by the Conselho Brasileiro de Oftalmologia.

All courses are organized in cooperation with national and supranational ophthalmologic societies, with support from the American Academy of Ophthalmology and U.S. Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology.

Topics covered include curriculum development, teaching in outpatient areas, surgical instruction and assessment of residents’ knowledge and skills.

The first course for residency program directors was organized in Mexico City in 2004 by Council Member Enrique Graue, MD, and has served as a model for the others.

Atlas of Ophthalmology

The ICO has endorsed the Atlas of Ophthalmology, an online multimedia database edited by Robert Machemer, MD, (Durham, USA) and Georg Michelson, MD, (Erlangen, Germany).

A helpful learning tool for ophthalmologists and students worldwide, the Atlas makes photographs related to more than 1000 ophthalmic diagnoses available through the Internet free of charge.

Next: More Programs and Initiatives of the ICO

Also see: ICO initiatives in ophthalmic education

You can also download a listing of ICO Programs and Iniatives as a PDF file (203 KB).