International Council of Ophthalmology

The International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) represents and serves professional associations of ophthalmologists throughout the world. The Board of Trustees of the International Council of Ophthalmology is the executive body and operational arm of the ICO.

Mission

The ICO is building a World Alliance for Sight. We work with ophthalmologic societies and others to enhance ophthalmic education and improve access to the highest quality eye care in order to preserve and restore vision for the people of the world.

History

The ICO was established in 1857 in Brussels when 150 ophthalmologists from 24 countries met in the first International Congress of Ophthalmology (now the World Ophthalmology Congress - WOC). The Advisory Board (executive body) was created in 1927 in Scheveningen, Holland. Member societies were added (International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies) in 1933 in Madrid, Spain.

Prior to July 2008, International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies (IFOS) was the official name of the organization, with the ICO serving as the executive body. But over the years the "ICO" became better known than IFOS, leading to considerable confusion and a proposal to adopt a single name.

The names for the separate parts of the group are now combined under one name, the International Council of Ophthalmology.

Dedicated to the Preservation of Vision

Every five seconds, one person in the world goes blind. A child goes blind every minute. There are 37 million people who are blind in the world. There are 124 million more with significant loss of vision. 75% of blindness is avoidable: either preventable or treatable. (from ICO web--but what original source? Site source here.)

Yet the World Health Organization

World Health Organization

The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...

 (WHO) estimates that the number of blind and visually impaired will double–to 76 million by 2020–unless concerted action is taken. Ninety percent of the world's blind people live in developing countries, including close to seven million each in India and China and more than 19 million in other countries. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs282/en/.

As a founding member of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness

International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness

The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness is a coordinating, umbrella organization to lead an international effort in mobilizing resources for blindness prevention activities. It was set up on January 1, 1975, by the late Sir John Wilson, the Founder President...

(IAPB), the ICO participates in the IAPB’s VISION 2020 initiative, supports and enables ICO member education programs and runs their own ICO initiatives sponsored by the ICOFoundation.

In their study on the magnitude and cost of global blindness, Frick and Foster calculate that successful implementation of VISION 2020 would lead to the prevention of 429 blind-person years (defined as "one year of blindness for an individual"). This will have a dramatic effect on the lives of millions of people — those with blindness, as well as their caregivers. http://www.who.int/ncd/vision2020_actionplan/documents/frickfosterAJO1354712003.pdf

ICO Commitments

• Enhancing ophthalmic education, particularly training of ophthalmologists and other eye care personnel to meet public needs in developing countries

• Stimulating and supporting communication and collaboration among ophthalmologic societies and ophthalmologists globally and their involvement in initiatives to preserve vision

• Defining and disseminating standards and guidelines in order to enhance eye care

• Stimulating research to eradicate preventable blindness

• Raising awareness worldwide of the economic, social and personal impact of vision loss and advocating for increased funding and other support for preservation and restoration of vision.

ICO Programs

• The World Ophthalmology Congress (WOC), which is held every two years in a different region of the world

• ICO International Basic Science Assessment and Clinical Sciences Assessment for Ophthalmologists

• ICO International Fellowships

• ICO International Clinical Guidelines

• International Standards For Vision, Eye Care and Ophthalmology

• Research Agenda for Global Blindness Prevention

• Vision for the Future, the International Ophthalmology Strategic Plan to Preserve and Restore Vision

• Advocacy for preservation of vision

• Various ophthalmic education initiatives

Vision for the Future

The International Ophthalmology Strategic Plan to Preserve and Restore Vision, Vision for the Future, stems from planning sessions organized by the International Council of Ophthalmology and the Academia Ophthalmologica Internationalis in 1999 and 2000.

With a mission to preserve and restore vision, Vision for the Future encourages activities to enhance Ophthalmic Education and Training, Ophthalmology Continuing Education, Eye Care Guidelines and Recommendations, Advocacy for the Preservation and Restoration of Vision, and Research in Ophthalmology and Vision.

Vision for the Future envisions partnerships with the Global Initiative for the Elimination of Avoidable Blindness/VISION 2020 and other global, national and institutional programs sponsored by organizations and entities committed to the elimination of avoidable blindness.