L V Prasad Eye Institute to Host Biggest
Ever Event in Global Eye Health
The 9th General Assembly of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness
Hyderabad, September 13, 2012: The 9th General Assembly (9GA) of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) will be held at HICC, Hyderabad from 17-20 September 2012.
IAPB General Assemblies are held every four years, rotating among IAPB’s seven world regions. The previous 8th General Assembly (8GA) was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2008. The present 9th General Assembly (9GA) is being organized in conjunction with L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), which is the Organizing Partner. The Assembly theme is “Eye Health: Everyone’s Business”.
“LVPEI is happy to host the premier event in global eye health. The 9th General Assembly of the IAPB is going to be the biggest ever in its history. We have over 1500 delegates registered from 66 countries, and 120 eminent invited speakers for more than 50 symposia, sessions and courses,” said Dr Gullapalli N Rao, Chair, L V Prasad Eye Institute.
The 9GA in Hyderabad will present new approaches and practical solutions to improving eye care. Topics will include global blindness prevention, cataract, refractive error, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, childhood blindness, corneal blindness and eye banking. Delegates will also learn of the progress being made towards the goal of VISION 2020: The Right to Sight (IAPB’s joint initiative with the World Health Organization for the elimination of avoidable blindness).
IAPB was established in 1975 as a coordinating, umbrella organization to lead international efforts in blindness prevention activities. Its first major achievement was to promote the establishment of a WHO program for prevention of blindness, with which it has remained strongly linked, and which is now embodied in the global initiative, VISION 2020: The Right to Sight.
IAPB currently represents close to 120 member organizations, including virtually every major international eye health NGO, as well as the global apex bodies for both optometry and ophthalmology, disable persons' organizations, academic institutions and concerned corporations. IAPB members are working together to eliminate avoidable blindness and vision impairment worldwide.
For more information, please visit: www.iapb.org and www.VISION2020.org
Global Facts – please visit www.VISION2020.org/facts for latest statistics
· 80% of all visual impairment is avoidable (i.e. can be prevented, treated or cured through known and cost-effective interventions)
· About 285 million people are visually impaired worldwide: 39 million are blind and 246 have low vision
· 90% of the world's visually impaired people live in developing countries
· Globally, uncorrected refractive errors are the main cause of visual impairment but in middle and low-income countries cataracts remain the leading cause
· The number of people visually impaired from infectious diseases has greatly reduced in the last 20 years
For further information, please contact:
Dr Sreedevi Yadavalli, Associate Director and Head – Communications, LVPEI
Tel: +91 040 23547254, +91 040 30612555 / Email: [email protected]
Mr B V Tejah
Communications Manager, IAPB +91 99496 97771 Email: [email protected]
