(For previous issues of the ICO Leader Letter, go to: www.icoph.org/news/letters.html.)
The first meeting, on March 14 to 16, was the World Congress on Refractive Error and Service Development in Durban, South Africa, where participants adopted a "Durban Declaration" on uncorrected refractive error. The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) met the following week in Durban, followed by the International Council of Ophthalmology and various ICO committees on March 21 to 23 in Cape Town. Some of us traveled directly from South Africa to Dubai for the IX International Congress of the Middle East African Council of Ophthalmology (MEACO), where the ICO Advisory Leadership Group on Sub-Saharan Africa convened for the first time, with very encouraging results. Below are a series of reports, with more details on the ICO Web Site at www.icoph.org. - Bruce Spivey, MD, ICO President 2. Council To Name Task Force on Refractive Error
The ICO decided in Cape Town to endorse the "Durban Declaration" on the pressing issue of uncorrected refractive error and to form a task force to recommend what ophthalmology should do, in cooperation with others, to address the problem. In October last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) released new estimates that 153 million people around the world have uncorrected refractive errors. That includes at least 13 million children (age 5 to 15) and 45 million working age adults (age 16 to 49). According to the WHO estimates, 90 percent of those with uncorrected refractive errors live in low- and middle-income countries, where they lack access to eye testing, glasses and contact lens, with severe personal, social and economic consequences. "While ophthalmology by itself can not solve the problem of uncorrected visual error," said ICO President Bruce Spivey, MD, "we must work with others within the context of VISION 2020 to be part of the solution." In the "Durban Declaration," delegates to the World Congress on Refractive Error and Service Development supported the VISION 2020: The Right To Sight global initiative and pledged to:
You can download the Durban Declaration from www.icoph.org/pdf/DurbanDeclaration2007.pdf. - Hugh R. Taylor, AC, MD, ICO Director for Advocacy 3. Stimulating Education in Countries with Minimal Eye Care
The ICO Committee on Countries with Minimal Ophthalmic Presence met in Cape Town and reviewed data on 32 countries worldwide with no more than two ophthalmologists or one ophthalmologist per million population, most of them in Sub-Saharan Africa. Committee Chair Koby Pe'er, MD, presented a long-term action plan to help establish affordable and accessible eye care services in those countries to the Advisory Committee to the Council, which recommended focusing first on several countries that meet specific criteria. The Council agreed to focus on five. Following site visits to each country, the plan calls for training of ophthalmologists and allied personnel to establish eye clinics or services that can do further training. This focus on countries with minimal ophthalmic presence is a high priority for the ICO, and we appreciate the inspired leadership and commitment of Dr. Pe'er. - Bruce Spivey, MD, ICO President 4. Council Decides on WOC 2014, Awards and Name
Also at its meeting in Cape Town, the Council voted to:
For more on the Council meeting, see the www.icoph.org. - Jean-Jacques De Laey, MD, ICO Secretary General 5. Dr. AlRajhi Is New MEACO President
At the Opening Ceremonies of the IX International Congress of the Middle East African Council of Ophthalmology (MEACO) in Dubai, ICO President Bruce Spivey, MD, praised Akef El-Maghraby, MD, for his exemplary leadership since founding the supranational society in 1989. Abdulaziz AlRajhi, MD, took office as the new MEACO President at the end of the Congress. The ICO looks forward to working closely with MEACO as it continues to evolve under Dr. AlRajhi's leadership. An outstanding scientific program, with more than 400 speakers from 49 countries, made this the best MEACO Congress so far. MEACO awarded its:
- Yasuo Tano, MD, ICO Treasurer 6. Sub-Saharan Leadership Group To Focus on Five Priorities
With generous support from MEACO and the ICOFoundation, the ICO invited 21 current and potential future leaders from 11 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to Dubai to participate in its second World Ophthalmology Roundtable on Leadership Development (WORLD) and the MEACO Congress. The first meeting of the "ICO Advisory Leadership Group on Sub-Saharan Africa" in Dubai featured presentations on leadership, ophthalmologic society development, enhancing education and advocacy, followed by discussion of the needs of ophthalmologists and ophthalmologic societies and how the ICO might help. At a final meeting toward the end of the Congress, the Advisory Leadership Group formed working groups to focus on five priority areas:
The working groups will evaluate options discussed in Dubai and decide how they want to move forward by June 1. They invite other ophthalmologists from Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond to join them. Please contact ICO Executive Director Bill Felch at wfelch@icoph.org if you would like to participate. I am inspired by the enthusiasm and commitment of all those involved. If we can keep the momentum going, I believe our meetings in Dubai will prove to be a groundbreaking event for ophthalmology and eye care in Africa. Thanks to MEACO and the ICOFoundation for making this possible. - Daniel Etya'ale, MD, ICO Council Member and WHO VISION 2020 Coordinator for Africa 7. Next ICO and IFOS Meetings and World Ophthalmology Congress (WOC)
Other future ICO/IFOS Meetings: www.icoph.org/lead/icomeet.html. 8. Coming in the May ICO Leader Letter: 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. 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 [contact-Email]. 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/leader0704.html. For previous issues, go to www.icoph.org/news/letters.html. Copyright © 2007 International Council of Ophthalmology. All rights reserved.  International Council of OphthalmologyHome | News | About ICO/IFOS | ICOFoundation | Contact | Find |
