About the ICO:

International Council of Ophthalmology Draft Meeting Minutes, July 20 - 21, 2001, Buenos Aires, Argentina

APPENDIX VFTF - 4: Report on Advocacy to the International Council of Ophthalmology

On this page:

• The VISION 2020 Task Force Membership
  
  
• IAPB
  
  
• World Sight Day
  
  
• Provision of Information to National Societies
  
  
• Super-Regional Meetings

The VISION 2020 Task Force Membership:

Earlier in 2000 the ICO formally became a member of the VISION 2020 Task Force. This is a particularly important commitment, and it is essential that it be maintained.

The President and Treasurer were able to attend some of the meetings held most recently this year in February in Geneva. The ICO would greatly benefit by having greater continuity in representation and it would be useful to have two or more people present at all meetings so that institutional memory and understanding progressively builds.

If we are going to be players in this field it is essential that we at least put our representatives on the same playing field as the rest of the world

IAPB:

There is still confusion about the role of the ICO and the IAPB. It is widely acknowledged that the IAPB was jointly founded by the ICO and the World Blind Union.

Every organisation that belongs to the IAPB with the exception of the ICO pays an annual subscription or fee that helps contribute to the running costs of the IAPB. It makes it very difficult when the world's ophthalmologists are seen as being incapable of pulling their weight and depending on the charity of other non-government organisations who continue to support the IAPB.

Quite clearly, the ICO has a difficult dilemma as it does have insufficient funds to cover an additional contribution to the IAPB at present, and this is an area that must be addressed. When it is pointed out at the meeting by other delegates that ophthalmologists around the world probably bill some $50 to $100 billion dollars per year, it is inexplicable that they cannot make a more meaningful contribution.

Although ophthalmologists play an important role in the IAPB, it is still very important that the ICO be represented in its own right. The President, Vice-President and Secretary-General of the IAPB are all ophthalmologists, as are five of the six Regional Chairmen.

World Sight Day:

World Sight Day has been accepted by all those involved in VISION 2020 as a major international event. This will be held on the second Thursday of October. This year it will Thursday October 11. World-wide activities have been coordinated by Isabel Gander in the IAPB Office in London.

The ICO, through its national societies, is the natural and most appropriate linkage for ophthalmologists to be involved in these activities, that will be predominantly nationally based although coordinated internationally. The ICO should use its network to facilitate the involvement of the national societies in their national activities.

Provision of Information to National Societies:

Apart from the ICO being the most appropriate representative of international ophthalmology and the international fora such as the IAPB and VISION 2020, the ICO, through IFOS, has a critical role to play to make sure that every ophthalmologist in the world understands VISION 2020 and is able to support and participate in these activities if they desire.

There is a major need for the ICO to provide information packages for national societies to inform their members and also to provide regular updates of activities. Outline materials that would form the basis of an information pack were drawn up a year or so ago, but this program has not proceeded because of the lack of funds.

At present, this is clearly beyond the means of the ICO as a purely voluntary organisation, and funds are urgently needed to establish a creditable secretariat that is able to provide this ongoing flow of information to the member societies.

Super-Regional Meetings:

The President of the ICO held a meeting with the President of each of the regional ophthalmological societies during the 2000 American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting. This is a very useful and positive step which should be repeated on a regular basis.

In part because of this meeting, informational sessions about international ophthalmology and VISION 2020 were held as part of the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology in Taipei in March 2001 and will be held as part of the European Ophthalmology Society Congress in Istanbul in June 2001. I believe a similar session was held in the recent Pan-Arab meeting.

Hugh R. Taylor
April 2001

Next: APPENDIX VFTF - 5: "Aspirational" Goals for Research

Also see:

• Report of July 20, 2001 Meeting on Vision for the Future
  
  
• ICO Minutes, July 20 - 21, 2001