Ophthalmologic Societies:

Twinning of Institutions and National Ophthalmologic Societies

By Dr. Frank Billson, Former Member, Advisory Committee to the ICO

On February 18, 1999 the World Health Organisation (WHO) and a broad coalition of International, Non-governmental and Private Organisations launched in Geneva a global initiative "VISION 2020: The Right to Sight."

"The International Council of Ophthalmology believes that equal benefit can come from sustained mutual contact between individuals, eye departments, academic institutions or societies whether these are within cities already twinned or on a much wider basis."

The objective of the initiative is to eliminate avoidable blindness by 2020 and so reduce global burden of blindness which currently affects an estimated 40-45 million people worldwide.

The International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) through its constituency of International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies (IFOS) and The International Agency for Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) and its task force and partnership of participating International Non Government Development Organisations (INGDO) are supporting this initiative.

One of the strategies through which support can be given is twinning.

Twinning is defined in the Concise Oxford Dictionary as "the formation of closely related pairs." The term is used mainly in a biological sense and has the connotation of growing together and commitment over an extended period of time.

As ties between nations have become closer it has become common practice for cities and towns to "twin" with each other in order to compare their systems of government and organisations.

This has led to greater understanding, more rapid exchange of information, considerable material advantage and in many cases changes of practice for the better.

The International Council of Ophthalmology believes that equal benefit can come from sustained mutual contact between individuals, eye departments, academic institutions or societies whether these are within cities already twinned or on a much wider basis.

There are already a number of examples where twinning has been successful in mobilising human and material resources to the mutual benefit of the institutions involved.

For further information:

• Web site: www.eye.usyd.edu.au/twinning
  
  
• E-mail: icotwin@mail.eye.usyd.edu.au
  
  
• Fax : (6-12) 9382 7318

Next: ICO Resolution on Ophthalmology Curriculum for Medical Student

Also see: Resources for Societies