(For previous Leader Letters, go to: www.icoph.org/news/letters.html.)
We heard from Drs. Andrew Lee and Karl Golnik on modern teaching methods and options for ophthalmic education, and had a stimulating conversation about the "Refocusing Ophthalmic Education" proposal. ICO Director of Education Mark Tso, MD, and I are very interested in your comments on this proposed initiative, particularly any ideas you have for approaches to ophthalmic education that may be more effective. Please join the conversation in the ICO Refocusing Ophthalmic Education Forum: www.icoph.org/refocus. We also invite you to participate in an ICO WORLD Roundtable on Refocusing Ophthalmic Education. A list of the meetings and details are in the April ICO Notes. Thank you in advance for your thoughts and ideas on this initiative. - Bruce Spivey, MD, ICO President 2. ICO WORLD Roundtable and the APAO Congress in Bali For those of you who will be attending the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO) Congress in Bali, we invite you to attend the ICO WORLD Roundtable presentation and discussion on "Refocusing Ophthalmic Education" on Sunday, May 17 from 07:00 to 09:00 at the convention center. You can download the draft program for the Roundtable meeting from: www.icoph.org/pdf/ICOWORLDBali.pdf. (PDF - 140 KB) We have a wide-ranging scientific program for the APAO Congress this year. Here are a few of the many programs that may interest you: Saturday, May 16
Sunday, May 17
A complete list of instructional courses and symposia is available on the APAO Congress website: www.apao2009bali.org/index13_1.shtml. Please also stop by to visit the ICO booth J01 in the exhibition hall. - Dennis Lam, MD, Secretary-General APAO and Member, ICO Board of Trustees 3. A Successful MEACO Congress 
Almost 3,000 delegates attended the MEACO Congress March 26-30 in Manama, Bahrain. We were very pleased with the attendance and received good feedback on the scientific sessions, which were planned in collaboration with many international organizations, including the ICO. MEACO presented Awards to three ophthalmologists in recognition of their contributions:
We announced the founding of five new regional subspecialty societies: cataract and refraction, retina, pediatric ophthalmology, glaucoma and oculoplastics. We also founded the Middle East African Eye Bank Organization and a new approach for the Middle East African Journal of Ophthalmology, (MEAJO). For more details on each, see www.meaco.org. An important highlight of the Congress was the two-day Vision 2020 Symposium, Africa: The Next 10 Years. Leaders and participants in the Vision 2020 efforts presented the successes and challenges thus far. Attendees divided into working groups to develop goals, specific priorities and targets for the next 10 years and beyond. - Abdulaziz AlRajhi, MD, MEACO President and ICO Board Member 4. Declaration on Trachoma and Trichiasis Surgery 
At the ICO Board and Advisory Committee meeting in Bahrain, we discussed a draft ICO Bahrain Declaration on Trachoma and Trichiasis Surgery. Since then, it has been officially adopted by the ICO and endorsed by the International Association for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) Board of Trustees, which also met in Bahrain. You can download the Declaration from: www.icoph.org/pdf/icotrichiasis.pdf (PDF - 644 KB). As part of the global effort to eliminate blinding trachoma by the year 2020, governments and NGOs have ramped up their trachoma activities significantly over the last few years. Many programs have trained medical officers and medical assistants to do the bulk of this surgery. Reports of variations in the outcome of this surgery continue to emerge and it is important to assure surgery is done to an appropriate standard. With this declaration, we reaffirm the importance of trichiasis surgery to treat trachoma and encourage ophthalmologists around the world to take the lead to ensure the quality of trichiasis surgery through appropriate training and supervision. Also available is the ICO International Clinical Guideline on Trachoma, which supports the WHO recommended SAFE strategy for management of trachoma: www.icoph.org/pdf/ICOTrachoma.pdf (100 KB). - Hugh Taylor, AC, ICO Advocacy Director 5. ICO Addresses Uncorrected Refractive Error, Other Topics in Bahrain
At the informal ICO Board and Advisory Meeting at the MEACO Congress, we had lively discussions on uncorrected refractive error and the expansion of optometry, among other topics. Dr. Babar Qureshi presented a proposal outlining pilot programs in Pakistan and Nigeria to address uncorrected refractive error. Implementation of the pilots would begin in 2010, with a projected budget of $703,000. The ICO Board and Advisory members in attendance were uniformly positive about the program and recommended that we seek financial support. Optometry is working to expand its scope of practice worldwide, including, in some countries, the right to do surgery. We invited Dr. Michael Brennan, President of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, to make a presentation on the expansion of optometry. In the discussion that followed, it was stressed that the situation of optometry varies widely from country to country and that it has become a political problem, whereas the ICO is not a political organization. The consensus was that optometrists have an important part to play in eye care (particularly where there are not enough ophthalmologists) but expansion of their scope to include surgery is not in the best interest of the public. Please let us know if this is an issue in your country and, if so, how you are addressing it. - Jean-Jacques De Laey, MD, ICO Secretary General 6. Sub-Saharan Africa Ophthalmology Leadership Group Evolves In 2007, the ICO and MEACO formed a group of current and potential leaders from Sub-Saharan Africa to help develop and enhance future ophthalmic leadership, training and practice in the region. The fifth and last meeting of the current "ICO/MEACO Advisory Leadership Group", entitled "The Way Forward," was held March 24-26 in conjunction with the MEACO Congress in Bahrain. This meeting included workshops on ophthalmologic society development, time management, operational research, and using information technology. The ophthalmology leadership group for Sub-Saharan Africa will continue [to evolve] under the leadership of Dr. Kunle Hassan with emphasis on:
I would like to thank the ICO, MEACO, and the ICOFoundation who provided the support and the funding that allowed the emergence of this group. Developing these and other future leaders is critical to the success of the prevention of visual loss efforts in Africa. - Daniel Etya'ale, MD, ICO Board Member and WHO VISION 2020 Coordinator for Africa 7. Next ICO Meetings and World Ophthalmology Congress (WOC)
Other future ICO Meetings: www.icoph.org/lead/icomeet.html. 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 ophthalmologic leaders? Please let us know at leader@icoph.org. 10. 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/leader0904.html. For previous issues, go to www.icoph.org/news/letters.html. Copyright © 2009 International Council of Ophthalmology. All rights reserved.
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