A RACE AGAINST TIME

At the XXX Congress of the ESCRS in Milan, Italy, my friend and colleague Peter Barry, the president of the society, pledged to continue to support the charity initiatives which commenced under my presidency in 2010. We are now in the third year of this important initiative between ESCRS and ORBIS and Oxfam.

The ORBIS project specifically is dedicated to the training of ophthalmologists for their new paediatric unit at the Gondar Referral Hospital in Ethiopia and the Oxfam project is a long-term project to provide safe water and sanitation to the local population. As EuroTimes contributing editor Dermot McGrath points out in this month’s Cover Story, the World Health Organization (WHO) has teamed up with international NGOs and professional societies in eye care in the “VISION 2020 – The Right to Sight†programme to eliminate avoidable blindness by the year 2020.

In 2010, an estimated 285 million people worldwide were visually impaired, while 39 million were classified as blind. Over 85 per cent of those who are visually impaired live in developing countries, with cataract still the most common cause of preventable blindness in more deprived regions of the globe. That is one of the reasons why we are supporting ORBIS and Oxfam, but we must also look at the bigger picture. In the last three years, the society and its members have done important work but we face bigger challenges ahead.

The money we give to ORBIS and Oxfam is important, but there are other ways we can contribute. The Special Focus section in this month’s EuroTimes includes a number of articles focusing on the challenges facing countries in the developing world and I would urge you to read them to find out more about the work of the non-governmental agencies. Some of my colleagues have travelled overseas to work directly with those who cannot afford eye care. This work is extremely valuable and I commend all those involved in these initiatives. But I would also argue that we have a bigger responsibility. The reason why some of our fellow citizens do not have access to the best facilities and medical staff is because they are poor. I believe that all of us, not only ophthalmologists, have a responsibility to reduce the inequality between the rich and poor members of our society.

We can do this directly by sharing some of our wealth by giving our time to help those who are suffering. We should also get involved in the international debate as to how we can reduce the burden of poverty. The ESCRS is not a political organisation but individually we can take political decisions in our own countries by supporting those parties that show the greatest commitment to an equal society. On the economic front, we can also support those companies which are also involved in charitable initiatives. I also believe that we should talk to our friends and families about how we can help organisations like ORBIS and Oxfam as private individuals. I am proud of the work that ESCRS has done in the last three years, but there is more to do. Let us not only make a pledge to eliminate avoidable blindness. Let us make a pledge to eliminate poverty.