IAPB 9th General Assembly was held from 17th to 20th September 2012 in Hyderabad, when a new President was elected
Participation in the ninth General Assembly of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness-IAPB was extensive. The event was held between 17th and 20th September 2012 in Hyderabad, in central India. It was attended by more than 1,600 delegates hailing from 86 countries.
On this occasion, Bob McMullan (a former Australian Minister) was elected as new president of IAPB International. At the end of the general assembly, the Hyderabad declaration was presented, which underlined the importance of actions aimed at preventing eye diseases worldwide, whose devastating effects can often be avoided through regular eye examinations. A delegation of IAPB Italy onlus took part in the assembly.
Among the subjects that were discussed were the WHO action plan for the prevention of blindness (2014-2019), the importance of international ophthalmological interventions with the participation of local populations and the possibility to defeat avoidable blindness through effective interventions (starting from developing countries).
Malnutrition remains a problem not only in many African countries, but also in India, where many children suffer from vitamin deficiency. In particular, the lack of vitamin A can cause an eye disease called xerophthalmia. Finally, other subjects were addressed, such as, refractive errors, hypermetropia and astigmatism, glaucoma and neglected tropical diseases trachoma and river blindness.
Source: IAPB int.
