Ophthalmologic Societies:

News and Resources for Organizations Dedicated to Ophthalmology and Vision

On this page:

• IFOS: the International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies
  
  
• Commitment to ophthalmologic societies
  
  
• Resources and connections for society leaders

Society, ICO, and IFOS news headlines:

• ICO urges follow-up on WHA Resolution
  
  
• Nominations requested for Naumann Award for Leadership
  
  
• ICO seeks comments on draft strategic plan
  
  
• Council adopts Code of Ethics for ophthalmologists
  
  
• ICO establishes G.O.H. Naumann Award
  
  
• International subspecialty societies join IFOS
  
  
• More national societies join IFOS
  
  
• IFOS discusses challenges for ophthalmology
  
  
• IFOS approves same dues for societies
  
  
• 2006 Congress provides free registration to IFOS Representatives

(Also see: More News of Societies, ICO and IFOS)

IFOS: the International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies

The International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies (IFOS) represents and serves professional associations of ophthalmologists throughout the world.

The International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) is the executive body and operational arm of IFOS.

The ICO is dedicated to preserving and restoring vision for all people worldwide and to serving the current and future needs of ophthalmologists and the public.

Commitment to ophthalmologic societies

One of the primary commitments of the ICO is to stimulate and support communication and collaboration among ophthalmologic societies and ophthalmologists globally, particularly initiatives to preserve vision.

Resources and connections for society leaders

To help the leaders of national and international societies of ophthalmologists strengthen their organizations, the ICO's Eye Site offers:

• suggestions for how ophthalmologic societies can participate in preservation of vision initiatives
  
  
• information on preservation of vision and prevention of blindness programs around the world and resources available on the Web
  
  
• a list of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that play an important role in eye care
  
  
• access to a database of information on ophthalmologic societies and residency training programs around the world
  
  
• links to the Web sites of:
  • Supranational and international ophthalmic and subspecialty organizations
    
    
  • IFOS Members and primary national societies
    
    
  • Other national, regional and local ophthalmologic and subspecialty organizations
    
    
• a list of Council members, the Advisory Committee to the ICO and ICO Committees and programs
  
  
• information on the International Congress of Ophthalmology, other international ophthalmologic meetings and educational resources.

ICO urges to follow-up on WHA Resolution

The International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) is asking national ophthalmologic societies and individual ophthalmologists to contact your Ministers of Health soon and ask them to advocate for inclusion of prevention of blindness and visual impairment in the World Health Organization (WHO) Medium-Term Strategic Plan, work programme and budget at WHO regional meetings in late August and September.

In May, the World Health Assembly, the policy-making body for WHO, adopted Resolution 59-25, calling for intensified action to halt and reverse the rise in avoidable blindness in the world. The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) coordinated a campaign for passage of the Resolution, and many ophthalmologic societies and individual ophthalmologists asked their Ministers of Health for support.

WHO Regional Committees will meet starting August 22 to set policy and approve programmes of work and budgets for each of the six WHO regions. (For the dates of the WHO Regional meetings, see: www.who.int/mediacentre/events/2006/regional/en.)

"There are many competing priorities for WHO focus and funding, and it is critical that Ministers of Health speak up for prevention of blindness when the WHO Medium-Term Strategic plan (2008-2013) and work programme are discussed," said ICO Director for Advocacy Hugh Taylor, MD. "Please contact your ministers as soon as possible and ask for their support."

You can download Resolution 59-25 in various languages from www.who.int/blindness/en/index.html. For more information, contact Dr. Taylor at advocacy@icoph.org.

Nominations requested for Naumann Award for Leadership

Members of the International Federation of Ophthalmologic Societies (IFOS) are requested to submit nominations for the G.O.H. Naumann Award for Leadership in Global Eye Care no later than November 15.

The Council established the Naumann Award in February to recognize both the leadership that Fritz Naumann, MD, provided as ICO President from 1998 to 2006 and the importance that Dr. Naumann placed on ophthalmology and ophthalmologists providing leadership for the preservation of vision worldwide.

The Award will be given each year to an ophthalmologist who, acting as a leader of a national or supranational ophthalmologic society that is a member of IFOS, has made a significant contribution to global eye care.

The ICO will pay travel and hotel expenses for the Awardee to attend and participate in the Council meeting the following year. The 2007 Council meeting will be in March in Cape Town, South Africa, in conjunction with the Ophthalmological Society of South Africa annual Congress.

For more information on the Naumann Award, including how to submit nominations, see: www.icoph.org/ic/naumannaward.html.

ICO seeks comments on draft strategic plan

The new Officers of the ICO and other participants in a strategic planning session in Zurich in July defined a vision for the future that would mean significant expansion of scope and growth for the International Council of Ophthalmology/International Federation of Ophthalmologic Societies (ICO/IFOS).

The planning group suggested that the ICO do much more to help national ophthalmologic societies develop, that it expand and deepen its historic emphasis on enhancing ophthalmic education and that it make a new commitment to increasing access to eye care and advocacy for prevention of blindness and research.

The draft Plan has been circulated to members of the Council and its Advisory Committee for comment. "Most of those who responded have been strongly supportive of the new directions proposed," said ICO President Bruce Spivey, MD. "But there have also been significant concerns expressed, and we have not reached consensus. We have asked members of IFOS to comment on this draft and then will take all opinions into consideration."

You can read the report on the planning session, which is also a draft partial strategic plan, starting at http://www.icoph.org/plan/part1.html or download it from http://www.icoph.org/pdf/ICOdraftplan.pdf. Comments are requested in the “Forum on the Future” at www.icoph.org/plan.

Council adopts Code of Ethics for ophthalmologists

On the recommendation of its Advisory Committee, the Council adopted a code of ethics prepared by the ICO Ethics Committee, chaired by Advisory Committee member Pinar Aydin, MD, PhD, of Turkey.

Titled "An Ethical Code for Ophthalmologists: Ethical Principles and Professional Standards," the code defines moral principles and standards to guide the behavior of ophthalmologists related to:

• patient care
• professional practice
• professional community
• research
• communications to the public
• fees and commercial interests.

The Ethical Code was developed over the course of two years with guidance from professional ethicists. It is on the ICO Web site at www.icoph.org/ethics and can be downloaded as a PDF file from www.icoph.org/pdf/icoethicalcode.pdf (164 KB). Comments are welcome.

The core-Code is intended to be general and include principals and not regulations, Dr. Aydin told the Council, but could be used as a basis for defining more specific codes of ethics for ophthalmologists within individual countries.

ICO Vice President and Education Director Mark Tso, MD, suggested that the Ethics Committee consider in the future how to teach ethics, particularly in developing countries. "It is a vital question for our profession," Dr. Tso said, and suggested that there be sessions on ethics at every World Congress.

Other members of the Ethics Committee are Pran Nagpal, MD, and Antonio G. Secchi, MD. Albert Jonsen, PhD and Charles Zacks, MD were consultants to the Committee.

Council establishes G.O.H. Naumann Award

At the end of its meeting, the Council honored outgoing President Naumann by establishing the "G.O.H. Naumann Award for Leadership in Global Eye Care."

The award recognizes both the leadership that Dr. Naumann provided as ICO President from 1998 to 2006 and the importance that he placed on ophthalmology and ophthalmologists providing leadership for the preservation of vision worldwide.

The Naumann Award will be made to one ophthalmologist each year who, acting as a leader of an IFOS member society, has made a significant contribution to global eye care. The ICO will pay traveling expenses for the awardee to participate in the Council meeting that year.

Supranational societies and IFOS members will be asked to make nominations each year, and the winner will be selected by a committee chaired by the Vice President.

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 (link) 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).

Also see: Full report on the IFOS meeting.

IFOS approves same dues for societies

IFOS also approved continuing the subscription (dues) for each member society at the level of 3 CHF per member of the society.

That rate will be in effect at least until the next IFOS meeting, which will be during the next World Ophthalmology Congress, June 28 – July 2, 2008 in Hong Kong.

2006 Congress provides free registration to IFOS Representatives

The São Paulo World Ophthalmology Congress organizers provided free registration to the official IFOS representative from each member society.

The Congress also provided free registration to the lead authors of the "best national papers" selected by IFOS members from various countries.

Council member Pran Nagpal, MD, chaired a Congress committee that encouraged national ophthalmologic societies to select one free paper on ophthalmology and one on prevention of blindness submitted by their members as best national papers.

See www.ophthalmology2006.com.br/best.php for a list of the “best national papers” selected.

Next: More News of Societies, ICO and IFOS

Also see: More News and Resources Related to Preservation of Vision