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ICO Notes
WHO Executive Board Meeting and O.N.E. Network

January 2009

Dear ICO Members and Friends,

Two quick reports:

WHO Executive Board Endorses Action Plan for Prevention of Visual Loss

Great news: On January 21, the WHO Executive Board recommended endorsement of the Draft Action Plan for the Prevention of Blindness and Visual Impairment at the World Health Assembly in Geneva in May. The draft action plan was prepared in collaboration with WHO Regional Offices, Member States and international partners -the result of a three-year effort to increase support for prevention of visual loss around the world. The draft action plan is available at archive.icoph.org/pdf/WHOActionPlan.pdf.

In December, the ICO asked societies in countries represented on the WHO Executive Board to contact their representatives on the Board and urge them to support adoption of the Plan. The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) sent a similar request to their members. It seems that our voices were heard. Thanks to everyone for this concerted effort!

I would like to extend special thanks to HRH Prince Abdulaziz Al Saud, Abdulaziz AlRajhi and the EMR/MEACO team who were instrumental in the long process leading to the success of this vote. Congratulations on what was a superb, sustained effort on behalf of patients everywhere. Had it not been for you, this would have never happened.

Free Access to O.N.E. Network in Developing Countries

The International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) would appreciate your help letting ophthalmologists in developing countries know that they now have free access to the American Academy of Ophthalmology's Ophthalmic News and Education (O.N.E.) ™ Network.

As many of you know, the O.N.E. Network (one.aao.org) is a comprehensive educational online resource that brings together the clinically relevant content, news and tools from a variety of sources. The Academy and ICO announced last June that we were collaborating to make the O.N.E. available free in developing countries, starting this month. We formed an International Advisory Panel to suggest how the O.N.E. might be adapted for international use, and the Academy has recently redesigned the O.N.E. to make it easier to navigate.

Societies in the following developing countries have already arranged with the Academy to make the O.N.E. free to all their members: China (COS), Colombia (SCO), Ecuador (SEO), El Salvador (ASO), Ethiopia (OSE), India (AIOS), Iran (IRSO), Kenya - Uganda - Tanzania (OSEA), Nigeria (OSN), Peru (SPO), and Serbia (SSO). Societies in other developing countries are encouraged to make similar arrangements with the Academy, and ophthalmologists can sign up individually.

To arrange for access, visit www.aao.org/oneapplication. Ophthalmologists from developing countries whose society has not already arranged for access and who are not already registered with the AAO should select their country from the drop-down menu at the bottom of the page. Click "submit" and proceed with the application to obtain access.

For questions or to arrange access for ophthalmologists in your country, contact Jane Aguirre, AAO's Vice President for Global Alliances, at jaguirre@aao.org.

We would appreciate whatever you can do to let ophthalmologists in developing countries know that they now have free access to the O.N.E. Network. To do that, you could forward this issue of ICO Notes to them or include a link to it (archive.icoph.org/news/ico0901.html) on your Web site or in your newsletter.

Thanks for letting ophthalmologists in developing countries know about this valuable resource.

With warm regards,

Bruce

Bruce Spivey, MD, MS, MEd
President, International Council of Ophthalmology

945 Green Street
San Francisco, CA, 94133, USA
Fax: (1-415) 409-8403
spivey@icoph.org
www.icoph.org