News of the ICO, Ophthalmology and Vision:

More News of 2006 ICO and IFOS Meetings and World Ophthalmology Congress in São Paulo

World Congress and ICO news headlines:

• International subspecialty societies join IFOS
  
  
• More national societies join IFOS
  
  
• IFOS discusses challenges for ophthalmology
  
  
• IFOS keynote on the role of the ophthalmologist
  
  
• IFOS discusses access to eye care
  
  
• Need for external and internal advocacy
  
  
• ICO provides flash memory drives and downloads
  
  
• Data on countries with few ophthalmologists
  
  
• WHO extends partnership with ICO/IFOS
  
  
• IAPB/VISION 2020 focus on increasing support for eye care
  
  
• Zeiss supports development of training centers
  
  
• Follow-up on residency education in Nigeria
  
  
• Three residency training courses scheduled

(Also see:

• More News from the 2006 ICO and IFOS meetings in São Paulo
• Other News
• the latest issue ICO Leader Letter)

International subspecialty societies join IFOS

At its February 2006 meeting in São Paulo, the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) approved the applications of 17 international subspecialty societies and related groups to join the International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies (IFOS).

Representatives of those societies participated in the IFOS General Assembly on February 21. (The Council is the executive body and operational arm of IFOS.)

Until recently, IFOS voting membership had been limited to the primary national ophthalmological society in each country. But IFOS voted in October 2004 to expand in recognition of the critical role that subspecialty societies play in ophthalmology.

New members of IFOS are the:

• Asian Oceanic Glaucoma Society
• Association of International Glaucoma Societies
• Contact Lens Association of Ophthalmologists, Inc.
• The Cornea Society
• European Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
• Glaucoma Research Society (previously the Glaucoma Society of the ICO)
• International Medical Contact Lens Council
• International Society for Geographical & Epidemiological Ophthalmology
• International Society for Low-vision Research and Rehabilitation
• International Society of Ocular Oncology
• International Society of Ocular Trauma
• International Society for Ophthalmic Pathology
• The International Uveitis Study Group
• The Macula Society
• Ophthalmic Oncology Group
• South East Asia Glaucoma Interest Group
• Sociedad Panamericana de Retina y Vitreo

More national societies join IFOS

New national societies that joined IFOS in São Paulo were the:

• Haitian Society of Ophthalmology
• Interregional Association of Ophthalmologists, Russia
• Kosovar Association of Ophthalmologists
• The Royal College of Ophthalmologists of Thailand
• Russian Society of Ophthalmologists.

IFOS discusses challenges for ophthalmology

 At its General Assembly on February 21, the International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies (IFOS):

• discussed the critical challenges facing ophthalmology in the future, particularly the many places in the world where there is inadequate access to eye care
  
  
• endorsed the policy adopted by the ICO to support efforts to increase the priority assigned to prevention of blindness and visual disability
  
  
• welcomed new members, including 17 subspecialty societies and related groups and five national societies
  
  
• elected 18 members of the Council who are not officers or “ex-officio” to four-year terms starting at the end of the World Congress
  
  
• approved minor changes in the Statutes of IFOS (see www.icoph.org/ic/statifosprop.html).

IFOS keynote on the role of the ophthalmologist

 At the IFOS General Assembly, Alfred Sommer, MD, presented a keynote address on the “Role of the Ophthalmologist in Eye Care.”

The former dean of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Dr. Sommer summarized data on preventable blindness and visual loss around the world, particularly the widely varying rates of cataract surgery.

While volunteer efforts to provide access to eye care in specific areas are wonderful, he said, sustainable solutions are needed that will tackle core, systems issues.

The ophthalmic profession should lead the way, Dr. Sommer said, not only to provide quality care to individual patients but to assure that all people have access to care, both geographically and financially. He called on ophthalmologists to evaluate themselves not on the basis of the health of their patients but the health of their communities.

IFOS discusses access to eye care

 Much of the IFOS General Assembly was devoted to discussion of challenges to ophthalmology and ways to enhance ophthalmic education and access to eye care.

Representatives to IFOS talked about how to create access in areas where it is not available, including French-speaking countries in the developing world.

With the population aging, the problems will grow worse, Representatives said, and more ophthalmologists will be needed to treat diabetic retinopathy and other diseases associated with aging.

Several IFOS Representatives called on national societies of ophthalmologists to take the leadership in assuring access to eye care for all people in their countries.

Council Member Daniel Etya’ale, MD, who focuses on prevention of blindness and deafness in Africa for WHO, emphasized the importance of training ophthalmologists in “soft skills,” including how to be more productive, how to build and lead eye care teams and how to communicate more effectively.

Susanne Trautzettel-Klosinski, MD, read a statement from the International Society for Low-Vision Research and Rehabilitation, a new IFOS member, calling for greater emphasis in VISION 2020 and elsewhere on providing support to people with low vision.

Need for external and internal advocacy

ICO Director for Advocacy Hugh Taylor, MD, stressed at the Council meeting and IFOS General Assembly the importance of both internal and external advocacy to make the ICO/IFOS and ophthalmology well recognized and respected around the world.

He called on the ICO to galvanize ophthalmologic societies to convince national health ministries to support WHO Resolution EB117.R4 at the 59th World Health Assembly (WHA), May 22 to 27 in Geneva.

Another important opportunity for advocacy will come later this year, Dr. Taylor reported, leading up to WHO Regional Meetings in September that will focus on the WHO Medium-Term Strategy (2008 – 2013). It will again be important to lobby health ministers, he said, to assure that vision is given priority in the Medium-Term Strategy, which will be adopted at the World Health Assembly in 2007.

ICO provides flash memory drives and downloads

Advocacy Director Hugh Taylor, MD, also stressed the importance of having ophthalmologic societies and, through them, “every ophthalmologist in the world” know, understand and recognize the role and contributions made by the ICO/IFOS.

He called on ICO members and IFOS Representatives to make sure that there is a report on ICO/IFOS programs and initiatives at every national, supranational and subspecialty Congress.

The ICO gave every IFOS Representative a “flash memory” drive (which is plugged into the USB port of a computer) to help them communicate about the ICO/IFOS. The drives contained four slide presentations on the ICO and prevention of blindness; ICO guidelines, standards and reports; and WHO Resolution EB117.R4.

All of the slides and documents can be downloaded from www.icoph.org/info, and revisions and new resources will be available at that address.

Data on countries with few ophthalmologists

Jacob Pe’er, MD, Chair of the ICO Committee on Countries with Minimal Ophthalmic Presence, presented to the Advisory Committee to the Council data on countries with few ophthalmologists compared to the population.

The data indicate, Dr. Pe’er reported, that there are 32 countries that have two or fewer ophthalmologists, less than one ophthalmologist per million population or no ophthalmologic organization. Of those countries, 20 are in Africa, eight in the Western Pacific, two in Southeast Asia and two in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The Committee identified three critical needs in those 32 countries:

1. training of ophthalmologists
2. training of paramedical staff
3. technology and infrastructure necessary to provide eye care.

The Advisory Committee discussed what could be done that would help the most in those countries, and members stressed the value of working in cooperation with Non-Governmental Development Organizations (NGOs) and the VISION 2020 global initiative.

The Committee will evaluate options and report back with recommendations.

WHO extends partnership with ICO/IFOS

Advisory Committee Member Serge Resnikoff, MD, PhD, who heads the WHO's Prevention of Blindness and Deafness efforts, told the Council that WHO has extended its formal partnership with the ICO/IFOS for another three years.

Dr. Resnikoff reported that only 32 percent of targeted countries have defined national VISION 2020 plans, as called for in a 2003 resolution adopted by the World Health Assembly. He said it is “important for ophthalmology to play a major role” supporting adoption of WHO Resolution EB117.R4 at the 59th World Health Assembly (WHA), May 22 to 27 in Geneva.

The current global health agenda is dominated by issues like Avian Flu, Dr. Resnikoff reported, and there is a perception that vision and eye care are not important. There is a “huge need to improve our communication” he said, including strategically linking prevention of blindness with other health issues.

IAPB/VISION 2020 focus on increasing support for eye care

Gullapolli (Nag) Rao, MD, President of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), gave a progress report on the VISION 2020 global initiative, including new data on world blindness reported in the “State of the World’s Sight” issued on World Sight Day in October 2005.

Dr. Rao reported that some countries have already assigned greater priority to prevention of blindness, including:

• Brazil, which has created a separate fund to pay for cataract surgery
• India, which has allocated $US 100 million for the prevention of blindness over five years
• Pakistan, which has allocated $US 46 million.

These and other examples show the potential impact that WHA adoption of WHO Resolution EB117.R4 could have on the resources devoted to the prevention of blindness, Dr. Rao said.

Zeiss supports development of training centers

The VISION 2020 Human Resource Working Group (HRWG) has been asked to take responsibility for the development of “IAPB – Carl Zeiss Training Centers,” Dr. Rao reported.

Zeiss is donating $200,000 per year for five years to support the development of five training centers in different regions of the world. The first center (2005) is being developed in Indonesia, the second (2006) in Nigeria, and the third (2007) will be in Eastern Africa. The locations for the fourth and fifth centers are still to be determined.

Dr. Rao said VISION 2020/IAPB is hoping to convince other industry leaders to make similar commitments.

Follow-up on residency education in Nigeria

B.G.K. Ajayi, MD, past president of the Ophthalmological Society of Nigeria (OSN), reported to the Council on efforts to enhance residency training in Nigeria stimulated by the visit of ICO members to Nigeria in spring of 2004. The Council members toured residency programs and met with the leaders of the OSN and the Nigerian Minister of Health.

Dr. Ajayi reported that:

• computers and other hardware have been delivered to six new residency resource centers, with Internet access to be added soon
  
  
• OSN is “twinning” with the All India Ophthalmologic Society, and members are attending other international Congresses, including 24 at the World Congress in São Paulo
  
  
• OSN has defined a “Vision for the Future – Nigeria” (PDF - 470 KB), established committees to focus on the priorities defined in it and created an OSN Foundation
  
  
• OSN is working with the Aravind Eye Hospital to build a high-quality, high-volume training center in Ibadan, supported by the 2006 grant from Carl Zeiss
  
  
• OSN is working with the U.S. National Eye Institute to develop a mechanism for evaluating the impact of these initiatives on patient care in Nigeria.

Council members praised the OSN for its openness to recognizing deficiencies in residency training and commitment to making changes, which can serve as a model for other countries.

Three residency training courses scheduled

The ICO will sponsor three regional courses for ophthalmology residency program directors in 2006 and 2007:

• March 23 – 24, 2006 in Lima, Peru for residency directors from Peru, Bolivia and other nearby countries
• June 15 – 16, 2006 in Cairo for directors from Egypt and neighboring countries
• July 16 – 17, 2007 in Buenos Aires, for residency directors from Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

All courses are being organized in cooperation with national and supranational ophthalmologic societies, with support from the American Academy of Ophthalmology and U.S. Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology.

Topics covered will include curriculum development, teaching in outpatient areas, surgical instruction and assessment of residents’ knowledge and skills.

The first course for residency program directors was organized in Mexico City in 2004 by new Council Member Enrique Graue, MD, and has served as a model for the others.

Next: More news from the 2006 ICO and IFOS meetings in São Paulo

(Also see:

• Other News
• the latest issue of the ICO Leader Letter)