Although there have been great successes in the prevention and treatment of infectious ocular diseases, the worldwide burden of visual impairment remains a significant global public health problem. According to the World Health Organization Fact Sheet updated in May 2009,

• About 314 million people are visually impaired worldwide; 45 million of them are blind.
• Most people with visual impairment are older (82% of the visually impaired are 50 years of age or older), and females are more at risk at every age, in every part of the world.
• About 87% of the world's visually impaired live in developing countries.
• The number of people blinded by infectious diseases has been greatly reduced, but age-related impairment is increasing.
• Cataract remains the leading cause of blindness globally, except in the most developed countries.
• Correction of refractive errors could give normal vision to more than 12 million children (ages five to 15).
• About 85% of all visual impairment and 75% of blindness is avoidable globally.

The leading causes of blindness in the world in order of frequency are: cataract, uncorrected refractive error, glaucoma and age related macular degeneration. Corneal opacities, diabetic retinopathy, trachoma, and pediatric ocular disorders such as cataract, retinopathy of prematurity and vitamin A deficiency represent other major causes.

Since the 1990s, the most influential factors in prevention have been the development of affordable specialized eye care centers, increased commitment to prevention from national leaders, medical professionals and private and corporate partners, higher awareness and utilization of resources by the general population, and implementation of effective eye care strategies to eliminate infectious causes of vision loss.

Because the largest burden of ocular disease is disproportionately found in developing countries, many ophthalmologic health care professionals may be interested in learning more about and participating in prevention and treatment strategies in these areas. Most of the more prominent organizations involved in these efforts, such as ORBIS, accept only professionals who have completed a residency or fellowship. One particularly useful resource for these individuals is the Eyecare Volunteer Registry, which can be found at the American Academy of Ophthalmology s website.

The Eyecare Volunteer Registry is a service offered by the Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, which is designed to enhance eye care services worldwide, particularly in developing nations where the need is greatest. The Registry connects eye care professionals who are interested in becoming international volunteers with organizations and institutions seeking ophthalmic volunteers.

When one joins the Registry, individuals will receive information on volunteer sites posted by organizations and institutions that match their preferences. Organizations will receive information on potential volunteers whose self-identified interests and expertise match the organization's needs.

Individuals still in training are limited to fewer organizations, however, there still several ways to get involved as a resident or fellow. At the University of Iowa, senior residents in good standing may apply for a 2 week international elective. The requirements and expectations of the opportunity are available in the linked (pdf) document. Below is a list of organizations that will accept ophthalmologists in training. You may also find it helpful to contact alumni of from your home institution.

Global Directory of Training Opportunities

An online resource of training opportunities (such as an observership, fellowship or preceptorship) available to ophthalmologists practicing outside of the host country. The Global Directory is provided at no cost to ophthalmologists around the world by the American Academy of Ophthalmology. see www.aao.org/training-opportunities

SHORT TERM OPPORTUNITIES (2-4 WEEKS)

This list is a work in progress. If you are aware of any other opportunities that can be added, please let us know: contact form.

Aravind Eye Care System

1, Anna Nagar, Madurai - 625 020,
Tamilnadu, India
Phone: +91-452-435 6100,
Fax: +91-452-253 0984
E-mail: aravind@aravind.org
http://www.aravind.org/educationhomepage.htm

Aravind s network of hospitals is one of the most productive eye care organizations in the world, in terms of surgical volume and the number of patients treated. With less than one percent of the country s ophthalmic manpower, Aravind performs about five percent of all cataract surgeries in India. Aravind s effective strategies cross barriers of distance, poverty and ignorance to create a self-sustaining system that now treats over 1.7 million patients each year, two-thirds of them for free.

Armenian EyeCare Project

Mailing address:
The Armenian EyeCare Project
P.O. Box 5630
Newport Beach, CA 92662
Phone: 1-949-933-4069
Fax: 1-949-675-5612
E-mail: leslie@eyecareproject.com
Contact Form: https://eyecareproject.com/contact-us/
https://eyecareproject.com/

Founded in 1992, the Armenian EyeCare Project's (AECP) mission is to eliminate preventable blindness in Armenia and to provide access to eye care for all those in the developing country. Since its inception, the AECP has been traveling to Armenia on twice-yearly medical missions — over 50 missions to date.

The volunteer Missions are typically held in June/July and in September/October. Leading the Missions is AECP President and Founder Dr. Roger Ohanesian. He is joined by anywhere from six to 12 ophthalmologists in various subspecialties.

While in Armenia, doctors work alongside Armenia's top physicians and teach at various AECP facilities. These include subspecialty clinics — Glaucoma, Retina, Corneal-Uveitis, Neuro-Orbital, Pediatrics and Low Vision — inside the Malayan Ophthalmological Center in the country's capital of Yerevan; the Center of Excellence for the Prevention of Childhood Blindness in Yerevan, which aims to advance eye care for infants and children in Armenia and eliminate preventable blindness from retinopathy of prematurity; the AECP Mobile Eye Hospital, which travels throughout Armenia to remote towns and villages offering care to those in the rural areas of the country and who are indigent; and the AECP Regional Eye Clinics, located throughout Armenia to offer eye care to the two million Armenians who live outside the country's capital. In addition, volunteer doctors visit schools, nursing homes, soup kitchens and polyclinics — anywhere and everywhere they are needed.

Medical Missions typically last two weeks.

Language requirements:
English is a requirement. Armenian and/or Russian is a plus.

Cost:
Volunteers are responsible for all of their expenses while in Armenia including transportation, lodging and food. Volunteers arrange their plane fare to Armenia, hotel and transportation while in Armenia with assistance from the EyeCare Project. Physicians on Medical Missions stay in a local hotel as a group.

University of Cape Town

Department of Surgery
Division of Ophthalmology
J45 Rm.69
Old Main Building
Groote Schuur Hospital
Observatory
7925
CAPE TOWN
R.S.A

The Faculty of Health Sciences at UCT has the oldest medical school in South Africa. Its core business is research in medical and allied fields, as well as teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students over a wide range of healthcare-related disciplines. UCT offers 2-4 week observerships in the Division of Ophthalmology, which is under the Department of Surgery. Contact Professor Colin Cook, Morris Mauerberger Chair of Ophthalmology, at myrna.colin@gmail.com for more details.

The Fred Hollows Foundation

www.hollows.com.au (Main offices are in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.)

The Fred Hollow Foundation
Level 3, 414 Gardeners Road
Rosebery, NSW 2018
Australia
Tel: 61-2-8338 2111
Fax: 61-2-8338 2100

The Fred Hollows Foundation is inspired by work of the late Professor Fred Hollows, whose vision was for a world where no one is needlessly blind. The individual offices in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom formed a global network to increase their collective impact in eradicating avoidable blindness around the world. Their hope is to restore sight to over one million people. The Foundation does not generally place volunteers in their international programs because their aim is to develop the skills and capacity of local workers in the disadvantaged communities in which they serve. However, there is one particular opportunity in Kathmandu, Nepal, where eye specialists for the time being may volunteer.

Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology

(incorporating The Fred Hollows IOL Laboratory )
Address: Bagmati Pul, Gaushala, Kathmandu, Nepal
Postal Address: PO Box 561, Kathmandu, Nepal
Phone: + 977 1447 4685 or + 977 1449 3775
Fax: + 977 1447 4685
Email: fhf@hollows.org or geoffrey.tabin@hsc.utah.edu
Website: www.tilganga.org

The Fred Hollows Foundations works with the Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology, which is an independent entity from The Foundation and has partnerships with several non-government organizations. The Fred Hollows Foundation mainly provides funding for the Institute s activities.

Led by Medical Director, Dr Sanduk Ruit, the Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology is composed of the Surgicentre, the Fred Hollows Intraocular Lens Laboratory and an Eye Bank for the storage of donated corneas. Tilganga has screened nearly 1.5 million people and performed more than 74,000 operations in the Himalaya region since 1994. They have a strong infrastructure including outreach and community eye clinics, which help the Institute to achieve its vision of providing eye care services to the poorest of the poor, no matter where they live. The Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology also provides outreach services and training for surgical teams from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Pakistan, Sikkim, Tibet, Myanmar, northern India, North Korea and for other country programs coordinated by The Fred Hollows Foundation.

Senior residents, surgeons and ophthalmology professors from the United States and Tilganga Eye Centre teach sections of the academic material and provide extraordinary surgery mentoring opportunities. More information can be found under the Himalayan Cataract Project at http://www.cureblindness.org/. The program is co-directed by Dr. Sanduk Ruit and Dr. Geoffrey Tabin (from the University of Utah). Write to info@cureblindness.org.

Hospital Italiano

Dr. Eduardo Mayorga
Head of the Eye Department
Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires
www.hospitalitaliano.org.ar
http://www2.hospitalitaliano.org.ar/oftalmo/
mayorgaedu@gmail.com

El Hospital Italiano in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is a state of the art, private hospital in the capital of Argentina. The ophthalmology department receives complex referrals from all over the country and continent. They have specialists in refractive surgery, cataracts, cornea transplantation, strabismus, ocular oncology, retina, oculo-plastics, neuro-ophthalmology and glaucoma. Their residency program accepts 3 residents a year and welcome clinical observerships. Dr. Mayorga is considered one of the best in ophthalmologic education by his peers and would be willing to talk with any interested resident in creating a customized elective experience. A working knowledge of the Spanish language is highly recommended.

International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies (IFOS)
International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO)

Bruce E. Spivey, MD
President
945 Green Street
San Francisco, CA 94133
United States of America
Fax: +1 (415) 409-8403
E-mail: info@icoph.org,
bruce@spivey.org

Dr. Spivey is an alumnus of the University of Iowa and has graciously agreed to help residents from our program to find an international ophthalmology experience suitable to each one s objectives and goals. As President of the ICO, he has vast connections with educators from all over the world and is an invaluable resource for our community.

There are also opportunities to work directly with the ICO at the administrative level. Below is a description of the organization s history and mission.

The International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) represents and serves professional ophthalmologic associations around the world. The formation of an international council began at the first World Ophthalmology Congress in 1857. In 1927, participants in the Congress formally founded the ICO in Holland.

The ICO s mission is to work with ophthalmologic societies, ophthalmologists and others to enhance ophthalmic education and the provision of eye care in order to preserve and protect vision for all people worldwide. Its goals are to:

• Enhance ophthalmic education, particularly training of ophthalmologists and other eye care personnel to meet public needs in developing countries
• Stimulate and support communication and collaboration among ophthalmologic societies and ophthalmologists globally and their involvement in initiatives to preserve vision
• Define and disseminate proposed standards and guidelines in order to enhance eye care
• Stimulate research to eradicate preventable blindness
• Raise awareness worldwide of the economic, social and personal impact of vision loss and advocate for increased funding and other support for preservation and restoration of vision.

The ICO produces and supports several programs including the World Ophthalmology Congress, the Basic Science Assessment and Clinical Sciences Assessment for Ophthalmologists, the ICO International Fellowship, ICO International Clinical Guidelines, advocacy for the preservation of vision, Vision for the Future The International Ophthalmology Strategic Plan to Preserve and Restore Vision, and the Research Agenda for Global Blindness Prevention. Contact Dr. Spivey if you are interested in volunteering with the ICO.

Medical Ministry International, USA

PO Box 1339
Allen, TX 75013
Telephone: (972) 727-5864
Fax: (972) 727-7810
Email: mmitx@mmint.org

MMI is a Christian medical mission organization whose aim is to serve God by providing spiritual and physical health care in a world of need. Their vision is to care annually for 100 million of the world s needy by the year 2050. They are committed to meeting the need for medical care among the world's poor with lasting solutions through excellence in medicine, patient care, and health education. Their strategy is to mobilize volunteers on one and two-week medical projects led by physicians with long term relationships to the areas they serve and to establish and equip permanent medical centers.

Volunteers participating on short-term medical mission trips form the foundation of the ministry. As volunteers work hard to provide care and change lives, they, in turn, find that their lives are changed. Participants take one or two weeks of vacation time to go and minister to multitudes of people in developing countries in Africa, Asia and the Americas. Most projects are general medicine, surgery and dentistry. Eye projects may be surgical only or involve a full team of eighty including ophthalmologists, optometrists, opticians, nurses, techs, anesthesiologists, and general helpers. On their website, you can find a year-long calendar of projects.

Mettapracharak (Wat Rai Khing) Hospital

Puwat Charukamnoetkanok, M.D.
Director of International Affairs
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology
University of Pittsburgh
University of Illinois at Chicago
52 Moo 2
Raikhing District, Sampran
Nakornpathom 73210
Thailand
Phone: +66 34-225818
Fax: +66 34-321243
http://www.metta.go.th/ (web site is not yet available in English)

Dr. Puwat Charukamnoetkanok (better known here as Dr. Puwat) is also an alumnus of the University of Iowa and is interested in hosting visiting residents and creating and resident exchange program. Anyone interested in this experience should contact him at drpuwat@yahoo.com.

Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Mr. Paul Sulllivan
Director of Education
care of: Miss Jennifer Irish
PGME & Observers Administrator
Postgraduate Medical Education Centre
162 City Road
London, UK
EC1V 2PD
Phone: +44 (0)20 7566 2428
Email: Jennifer.irish@moorfields.nhs.uk
http://www.moorfields.nhs.uk

Moorfields Eye Hospital is the oldest and one of the largest centers for ophthalmic treatment, teaching, and research in the world. The hospital accepts 1-2 observers on any one sub-specialty service at one time. The following services are represented at Moorfields: the Adnexal Service, Cataract Service, Corneal 7 External Diseases Service, Glaucoma Service, Medical Retina Service, Neuro-ophthalmology Service, Strabismus & Paediatrics Service and the Vitreoretinal Service. The minimum length of stay is 1 week and may extend up to 2 months (except for on the Glaucoma service, which has a 2-week maximum). A written application and a current copy of your CV are required. The cost is 150 per week, which is due up front and is non-refundable.

ORBIS International (Headquarters)

520 Eighth Ave., 11th floor
New York, NY 10018
Tel: (800) ORBIS-US, (646) 674-5500
Fax: (646) 674-5599
Email: info@orbis.org
www.orbis.org

ORBIS is a non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve and restore sight by strengthening the capacity of local partners in their efforts to prevent and treat blindness. ORBIS operates the world s only Flying Eye Hospital delivering sight restoration, education and training to local ophthalmic communities throughout the developing world. Its training program emphasizes a multi-disciplinary and multi-national approach to medicine, nursing, anesthesia, and biomedical engineering practices for quality patient care.

As part of ORBIS commitment to cultivate the next generation of ophthalmologists committed to global blindness prevention and sight restoration efforts, they have created the role of the Associate Ophthalmologist. This program offers a structured environment for motivated young ophthalmologists-in-training interested in international ophthalmology and/or public health.

The Associate Ophthalmologist serves as a volunteer member of the medical team and has the unique opportunity to network with the program s participating Volunteer Faculty, screen and care for patients pre- and post-operatively as well as facilitate hands-on, didactic and wet lab training sessions.

The Flying Eye Hospital typically conducts six to eight (two week duration) programs in any calendar year, and can accommodate two Associate Ophthalmologists per program week. Acceptance is competitive and awarded based on availability.

To apply for consideration and selection, each Associate Ophthalmologist candidate must have a degree from an accredited medical school; maintain current medical registration/licensure; be at least a second year resident, and hold a valid passport. Associate Ophthalmologists will be expected to be culturally sensitive and respectful of local tradition and law.

The role of Associate Ophtalmologist is a self funded position. Each candidate will be expected to fund his/her own airfare, visa, meals, and other incidental expenses. ORBIS does provide on site accommodation at the same hotel where the ORBIS team stays. ORBIS travel department is pleased to assist each Associate Ophthalmologist in organizing their respective travel itineraries and visa.

• Brochure describing the program (pdf)
• Terms and Conditions (MS Word document)
• Application (MS Word document)

After residency, one can apply to be a volunteer faculty member. ORBIS requires applicants to be board certified and have a minimum of four years experience post-completion of academic training. References from two current ORBIS medical volunteers are required.