(For other issues of the ICO Leader Letters, go to: www.icoph.org/news/letters.html.)
I believe this continuity is critical to sustaining the important progress we have made in recent years, and Bruce will provide excellent leadership for the Council and the International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies (IFOS). The Presidency has traditionally rotated from Asia/Oceana to Europe/Africa to North/South America, and this election continues that pattern. The terms of all four current officers expire at the end of the Congress in February, and we have asked the Council and its Advisory Committee to suggest individuals to serve as the new Secretary-General, Vice President and Treasurer of the ICO, starting then. Guidelines adopted in 2004 call for the other officers to be selected from different supranational regions than the President and each other, if possible. - Fritz Naumann, MD, ICO President 2. Comments Requested on Draft Report on Vision Requirements for Driving
The draft has been revised following the Council meeting in May and is posted on the ICO Web site at: www.icoph.org/standards/driving.html. It can be downloaded as a PDF file from: www.icoph.org/pdf/visionfordriving.pdf. The report recognizes the profound impact vision requirements for driving have and the need to make them more uniform around the world. It evaluates:
We would particularly appreciate your comments on the recommendations, which are summarized at: www.icoph.org/standards/drivingrecs.html. The Council and IFOS will consider the report when we meet in February. - Fritz Naumann, MD, ICO President 3. ICO Asks Societies to Recognize World Sight Day on October 13
The ICO encourages ophthalmologic societies to organize or participate in events recognizing World Sight Day. We should aim to have every ophthalmologist in the world be aware of the importance of VISION 2020 and support its goals and objectives. Then we need the ophthalmologists of the world to actively promote VISION 2020 to their patients and their community leaders. For ideas on how to mark World Sight Day and resources that can be downloaded, see www.v2020.org/world_sight_day. Hugh Taylor, MD, Acting ICO Advocacy Coordinator 4. Nations Scheduled To Report by May on their Commitment to VISION 2020
Countries that belong to the World Health Organization (WHO) are due to report by May 2006 on their national plans in support of VISION 2020: The Right to Sight. In May 2003, the World Health Assembly (WHA) adopted a resolution urging all WHO member states to set up national plans regarding the elimination of avoidable blindness by the year 2020, to establish a national coordinating committee for VISION 2020, and to start implementation of the action plan by 2007, at the latest. Nations are due to report on their plans and progress by May. As Serge Resnikoff, MD, PhD, who heads the WHO's Prevention of Blindness and Deafness efforts, told the Council at our meeting in May, the WHA resolution provides an excellent opportunity for advocacy by national ophthalmologic societies and involvement in definition of national plans. For suggestions on how to work within your country, see: www.v2020.org/toolkit/Toolkit2/contents/0.04.htm. You can download the WHA resolution at www.v2020.org/toolkit/Toolkit2/documents/WHA56.26.pdf. India has committed $25 million per year for the next five years. - Nag Rao, MD, Council Member and President of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness 5. Please Update Your Listing for the Directory of International Ophthalmology
We will send copies the Directory to all IFOS members and make it available at the World Ophthalmology Congress in February in Brazil. But to make the Directory accurate, we depend on societies to give us up-to-date information. Please check the listing for your society at: www.icoph.org/soc/ifos.cfm. If it is not accurate, go to www.icoph.org/admin to make changes. You will need the user name and password for your society. If you don't have them, send me an e-mail at spivey@icoph.org, and I'll send them to you. If the listing for a residency is out of date, please ask your national ophthalmological society to make changes. Thank you for your help keeping the database up-to-date and making the next Directory of International Ophthalmology the most complete and accurate ever. - Bruce Spivey, MD, Secretary General 6. July 30 Deadline for Best Free Papers for World Congress
A reminder that July 30, 2005 is the deadline for national ophthalmological societies to notify Dr. Pran Nagpal (mailto:manishad1@sancharnet.in) of the best free papers for the World Ophthalmology Congress from their countries. For details, see www.ophthalmology2006.com.br/best.php. July 29, 2005 is the advance registration deadline and August 30 is the deadline for submission of abstracts for the Congress, which will be February 19 - 24, 2006 in São Paulo, Brazil. For more, see: www.ophthalmology2006.com.br. - Rubens Belfort, MD, President of the XXX Congress and ICO Council Member 7. Next ICO and IFOS Meetings
Other Future ICO/IFOS Meetings: www.icoph.org/lead/icomeet.html. 8. Coming in the August ICO Leader Letter: Implementation of International Clinical Guidelines 9. 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. 10. 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. 11. 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. 12. Comments, Change of Address, Privacy Policy, Subscribe and Unsubscribe Send comments and suggestions for the Leader Letter to leader@icoph.org. You are subscribed as recipient@youraddress.com. Change your address by sending e-mail to: leader@icoph.org. We do not share e-mail addresses with anyone else. Check our privacy policy at: www.icoph.org/ic/privacy.html. To subscribe to the Leader Letter, visit www.icoph.org/news/subscribe.html. To unsubscribe, reply to this e-mail and type “unsubscribe” (without the quotes) as the subject, click on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of this page, or send an e-mail to leader@icoph.org. You can read this ICO Leader Letter online at www.icoph.org/news/leader0507.html. For previous issues, go to www.icoph.org/news/letters.html. Copyright © 2005 International Council of Ophthalmology. All rights reserved. |
