IFOS Notes:
Please Contact Your Minister of Health

Dear IFOS Members,

Since I wrote to you at length recently about the draft strategic plan for ICO/IFOS, I will keep this issue of IFOS Notes short, emphasizing some recent requests, dates and deadlines:

1. Please Contact Your Minister of Health about WHO Meetings

The World Health Organization (WHO) will set policies and approve plans and budgets for each of the six WHO regions at regional meetings that start this week.

If you haven’t already done so, please contact your Minister of Health as soon as possible and request that he or she speak at the WHO Regional Meeting in support of including prevention of blindness in the regional plans and budgets.

The World Health Association adopted Resolution 59-25 in May, calling for intensified action to halt and reverse the rise in avoidable blindness in the world. To make sure that this Resolution is translated into action and funding, it is critical that Ministers of Health speak up for prevention of blindness when the WHO Medium-Term Strategic plan (2008-2013) and work program are discussed at the Regional Meetings.

For more, see: www.icoph.org/prev/index.html#whafu.

2. Nominations Requested for Naumann Leadership Award

Members of the International Federation of Ophthalmologic Societies (IFOS) are encouraged to submit nominations for the G.O.H. Naumann Award for Leadership in Global Eye Care no later than November 15.

The awardee will be invited to make a presentation to and participate in the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) meeting next March in Cape Town, South Africa.

For details, see www.icoph.org/ic/naumannaward.html.

3. Resources for Recognizing World Sight Day on October 12

The ICO encourages ophthalmologic societies to organize or participate in recognition of World Sight Day on October 12 this year, which is focused on raising awareness of low vision and refractive error as major public health issues.

For more on World Sight Day, visit the newly redesigned VISION 2020 Web site at:

www.vision-2020.org/page.asp?section=0001000100070009.

You can download posters and other resources to help you celebrate World Sight Day at: www.vision-2020.org/page.asp?section=00010001000700090001.

4. September Deadline for IFOS/ICO Fellowship Applications

September 30 is the deadline for applications for the next round of IFOS/ICO Fellowships, which are available from more than 60 ophthalmology departments and programs in 27 countries. 198 Fellowships have been award to ophthalmologists from 58 countries since 2001.

For more, see: www.icoph.org/fellow.

5. Comments Requested on Draft Strategic Plan

You can review the draft Strategic Plan for the ICO/IFOS, starting at www.icoph.org/plan/part1.html or download the entire document from www.icoph.org/pdf/ICOdraftplan.pdf.

We would appreciate feedback from IFOS members, either in the online “Forum on the Future” at www.icoph.org/plan or by replying to this e-mail.

For more, see: www.icoph.org/news/ifos0608.html.

Thank you in advance.

With warm regards,

Bruce Spivey, MD
ICO President

945 Green Street
San Francisco, CA, 94133, USA
(1-415) 409-8410
Fax: (1-415) 409-8403
spivey@icoph.org
www.icoph.org