ICO Leader Letter:
Ophthalmology Must Lead Eye Care

January 2005, Volume 2, Number 1

In This Issue:

1. Ophthalmology Must Lead Eye Care (Fritz Naumann, MD)

2. Help for South Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Survivors (Fritz Naumann, MD)

3. Support for Training Ophthalmologists in Nigeria (Bruce Spivey, MD)

4. January 31 Deadline to Apply for ICO Basic and Clinical Assessments (Peter Watson, FRCS, FRCOphth)

5. ICEH Offers Courses on Community Eye Health and Vision 2020 (Hugh Taylor, MD)

6. People: Recognition for Selwa Al-Hazzaa and Dr. V's "Infinite Vision" (Bruce Spivey, MD)

7. Coming in the February ICO Leader Letter

8. More News

9. Request for other News and Resources

10. Forward the ICO Leader Letter to your Colleagues

11. Comments, Change of Address, Privacy Policy, Subscribe and Unsubscribe

1. Ophthalmology Must Lead Eye Care

Dear Colleagues:

Fritz Naumann, MD

The broad scope and depth of our training make ophthalmologists uniquely qualified to provide that leadership. But we must broaden our focus beyond the needs of our individual patients to wider communities and the public in general.

We made a large step in that direction in 1999 and 2000 when we developed Vision for the Future, the International Ophthalmology Strategic Plan To Preserve and Restore Vision. You can read it online at: www.icoph.org/prev/plan.html.

The ICO has made impressive progress on implementing initiatives proposed in that Plan, particularly in ophthalmic education, but there is still a great deal more that we, other ophthalmologic societies and individuals can do.

In this ICO Leader Letter you will find other examples of ophthalmologists taking the lead in meeting the public need for eye care.

- Fritz Naumann, MD, ICO President

2. Help for South Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Survivors

For the time being, it appears that the best that ophthalmologic societies and ophthalmologists can do to help now is to make financial contributions to the Non-Governmental Development Organizations (NGOs) that work in the countries affected.

VISION 2020 member NGOs are listed at www.v2020.org/members, and many have already started relief work in South Asia. The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) is collecting information on what its member NGOs and their partners are doing and will issue a preliminary report after January 20. The IAPB report will be available on the ICO Web Site at www.icoph.org.

"The main eye problems are most likely to be infections of the outer eye and ocular trauma," according to "Para" Pararajasegaram, FRCS, FRCP, FRCOphth, Consultant Ophthalmologist to the Prevention of Blindness and Deafness section of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Para reports that WHO has sent its South-East Asia Regional Office basic guidelines on dealing with possible eye problems for use by non-physician personnel likely to be working in these areas and particularly in refugee camps.

"Eye injuries will require referral to at least a secondary level centre," Para says, "and medical missions and NGOs may be strengthening some of these facilities to provide needed care by ophthalmic personnel."

For the latest WHO situation reports and other information on relief efforts, see: http://www.who.int/hac/crises/international/asia_tsunami/en/.

- Fritz Naumann, MD, ICO President Coordinator

3. Support for Training Ophthalmologists in Nigeria

Bruce Spivey, MD

Council Member Adenike Abiose, MD, and Dr. B.G.K. Ajayi, President of the Ophthalmological Society of Nigeria (OSN), organized the tour of residency programs and meetings with the OSN and the Minister of Health. Participating were ICO Officers Fritz Naumann, MD, Balder Gloor, MD, and myself and Council Members Daniel Etya'ale, MD, Hannah Faal, MD, and Akef El Maghraby, MD.

There is significant progress on follow-up, including:

• The Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology has shipped 19 sets of the Academy's Basic and Clinical Science Course to Nigeria for use in residency programs.
  
  
• With financial support provided by the ICO and ICO Foundation, Council member Daniel Etya'ale, MD, of the World Health Organization, is arranging to purchase the needed computers and services to provide broadband Internet connections at five new Resource Centers.
  
  
• The OSN has created an OSN Electronic Update & Newsletter to encourage residents and members to use the Web for continuing medical education.

And there is a lot more planned. Thanks to all those involved for their commitment. We hope that this pilot project in one country will provide a model and inspiration for initiatives to enhance residency training elsewhere in West Africa and around the world.

- Bruce Spivey, MD, ICO Secretary-General

4. January 31 Deadline to Apply for ICO Basic and Clinical Assessments

Peter Watson, FRCS, FRCOphth

January 31 is the deadline for applications for the 2005 ICO International Basic Science and Clinical Sciences Assessments, which will be offered on April 7 at locations around the world.

Ophthalmologic society leaders and residency program chairs may want to remind members and residents of this deadline and encourage them to contact the Examination Office as soon as possible if they are interested.

The best way to contact us is by e-mail at ico.exam@btinternet.com. Since we can neither send nor receive applications by e-mail, potential candidates should include the postal address to which the application should be mailed and state the country in which they want to take the Assessment.

The Basic Science Assessment is offered in English, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish and Spanish. The Clinical Sciences Assessment is only in English at this point.

In 2004, about 1200 candidates took the Assessments at 84 test centers in 59 countries. For more details and contact information, see: www.icoph.org/assess.

- Peter Watson, FRCS, FRCOphth, Chairman of the ICO Assessment Committee

5. ICEH Offers Courses on Community Eye Health and Vision 2020

Hugh Taylor, MD

• A three-day short course in tropical ophthalmology, starting February 14 (www.iceh.org.uk/tea_sho4.asp)
  
  
• A three-month diploma course in Community Eye Health, starting February 21 (www.iceh.org.uk/tea_sho3.asp)
  
  
• A five-week course on Control of Blinding Eye Disease, starting, February 23 (www.iceh.org.uk/tea_sho1.asp)

For courses offered by ICEH outside the United Kingdom, see: www.iceh.org.uk/tea_out.asp. There's more about the ICEH at www.iceh.org.uk.

- Hugh Taylor, MD, Interim ICO Advocacy Coordinator

6. People: Recognition for Selwa Al-Hazzaa and Dr. V's "Infinite Vision"

The head of ophthalmology at King Faisal Eye Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh and a visiting professor at Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute in Baltimore, Selwa has also been named one of the forty most powerful women in the Middle East.

Dr. Govindappa Venkataswamy, the legendary ophthalmologist from South India who made it his mission to restore sight to the blind and founded the Aravind Eye System, is the focus of an inspiring 35-minute film called "Infinite Vision."

For more information and excerpts from the movie, see www.aravind.org/ivision/menupage1000.htm. "Infinite Vision" can be purchased on DVD from the Seva Foundation at www.seva.org/merchandise.php#ivdvd.

Selwa and Dr. V, you make ophthalmology and ophthalmologists proud.

7. Coming in the February ICO Leader Letter:

March 31 Deadline To Apply for IFOS/ICO Fellowships

8. More News

For more news of the ICO and international ophthalmology and resources for ophthalmologic leaders, see the ICO's Eye Site at www.icoph.org.

9. Request for Other News and Resources

Do you have other news of international ophthalmology or know resources (particularly on the Web) that would be valuable to society leaders? Please let us know at leader@icoph.org.

10. Forward the ICO Leader Letter to your Colleagues:

If there are other ophthalmologic leaders you think might be interested in seeing this ICO Leader Letter, please forward this issue to them by clicking on this link.

11. Comments, Change of Address, Privacy Policy, Subscribe and Unsubscribe

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