The World Health Organization’s World Report on Vision has been presented at the Academy 2019 Orlando and 3rd World Congress of Optometry, hosted by the American Academy of Optometry and World Council of Optometry (WCO).
World Health Organization Coordinator Dr Alarcos Cieza delivers the first public presentation of its World Report on Vision at the Academy 2019 Orlando and 3rd World Congress of Optometry (Image courtesy of American Academy of Optometry).
Information from the World Report on Vision shows that a shortage of trained human resources is one of the greatest challenges to increasing the availability of eye care services and reducing the prevalence of preventable visual impairment around the world.
Discussion at the conferences highlighted that meeting eye care needs and ensuring good quality education will require a global curriculum, educators to deliver it, and people to lead.
Dr Shehzad Naroo, President of the International Association of Contact Lens Educators (IACLE), who attended the conferences along with a Global Summit on Optometric Education, said this will provide new opportunities for IACLE.
“IACLE fulfils all these roles in contact lens education and is already active in 79 countries,” said Dr Naroo.
“We have the resources and curriculum (IACLE Contact Lens Course 2020), we train the educators (Train-the-Trainer program) and we develop the leaders (Fellowship of IACLE).”
IACLE continued its 40th year celebrations in Orlando, the final destination for its interactive exhibition booth on the theme of ‘Exceptional Education. Exponential Impact’. Hundreds of visitors at events around the world during 2019 have made their mark on a time wall of milestones in the Association’s history.
