July 2022 Newsletter

This month President Ciszek shares his thoughts about the importance of refraction, we share news of the Haitian SVOSH chapter activities, an article from VOSH-Southeast on the changes they experienced, we announce the dates of our Annual Meeting in San Diego, invite you to an online discussion with VOSH chapters on the resuming of our clinics, share an invitation to the IV Pan American Congress of Optometry, celebrate the opening of the optometric labs at UTESA in the Dominican Republic, highlight the outcomes of the Prevent Blindness summit, changes at the Vision Impact Institute and much more.

President's Insights

A thorough refraction performed by a well-trained optometrist is, of course, important to each of our individual patients. A subjective refraction is as much art as it is technique, and is one of the many reasons we support the need for qualified optometrists globally. Read the whole article here

Do not miss the opportunity to meet your VOSH colleagues in San Diego. This will be our first in person meeting since 2019 and we are excited about this. The meeting will be in a hybrid format and take place over two days: October 29^th (afternoon) and October 30^th (morning). Book the dates! Registration opens in mid-August.

A big thank you to Prevent Blindness

At the recent 11th annual Focus on Eye Health National Summit, VOSH/International received the prestigious Prevent Blindness Jenny Pomeroy Award for Excellence in Vision and Public Health. The two-days summit was packed with challenging sessions that can now be accessed here .

News from our chapters

A new model of delivery

VOSH-Southeast reflects on the impact the pandemic had on their operations and how they are evolving in-country collaborations to continue generating impact. Read the whole article here.

The Peruvian Eurohispano Institute celebrates its 25^th Anniversary

The Peruvian Eurohispano Institute home of our active SVOSH-Eurohispano chapter celebrates 25 years of existence. Part of the big celebrations include the organisation of the IV Pan American Congress of Optometry and the XVI Optovision meeting between 22 and 24 September in Lima, Peru. VOSH/International President, past President and several of our SVOSH chapters will be part of this important event. You can find more information on the event here

VOSH-Southeast is looking for volunteers for their clinics in Guatemala

VOSH Southeast needs two optometrists for each of the clinics to Sacatepequez, August 23 to 30 and to Jalpatagua October 8 to 15. If you are interested, please contact Glenn Lashley at 386-846-6293 or via e-mail gmlashley@juno.com.

Haitian SVOSH-UEH-EO organizes a three-day program of activities

Between July 4th and 6th the Haitian SVOSH chapter organized an ambitious program under the banner "Promotion-Action-Service" (PAS) to promote, discuss the role of optometry in Haiti and offer eye health services to the community. VOSH/ International was delighted to support this initiative. Drs Dan Twelker and Hector Santiago, members of our Board, made presentations during the event. An important step for this young and active SVOSH chapter.

Resuming humanitarian clinics

An important discussion for VOSH chapters. Do not miss it

Our VOSH Chapters Relations Committee is organizing a Zoom discussion on how our chapters are resuming humanitarian clinics. What are the changes, the challenges and the innovations? Join us for a Zoom meeting on August 18^th between 7:30 and 8:30 PM (US EST) featuring the experiences of some of our chapters followed by a discussion. Register here to join.

Dominican school of optometry opens clinical labs

VOSH/International wishes to congratulate the leadership of the Universidad Tecnológica de Santo Domingo (UTESA), especially Rector Maria Elena Cruz, on the official inauguration of the clinical labs of its school of optometry. Our Technology Transfer Program worked alongside UTESA to collect the required equipment which will benefit UTESA optometry students for many years to come. A big thanks to Dr Stacy, his committee and volunteers who worked very hard to make this donation a tangible reality for this school. Check more information here

Publications and webinars

Prevalence of refractive errors in Hungary reveals three-fold increase in myopia

This study highlights the rise in myopia prevalence in Hungary especially among young generations. Myopia was 3 times more frequent in younger ages (18-35y of age) compared to older age groups. You can find the article here.

What is the role of optometry in meeting future challenges?

Since 2019, three key global reports and resolutions have outlined the challenges of eye health care provision and impacts of its absence across all areas of economic and human development. The World Council of Optometry (WCO) has developed this paper outlining the actions that optometry can take to met these challenges. Download the document here

WCO Pediatric Eye Care webinar

If you missed the webinar on Pediatric Eye Care organized by WCO and AFCO featuring Dr Naomi Nsubuga (Uganda) on school eye health programs focused on low and middle income countries and Dr Glenn T Steele (US) reflecting on current challenges due to technology, you can watch the video h ere.

News from our partners

Vision Impact Institute joins OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation

The Vision Impact Institute is joining the OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation becoming part of the Advocacy and Global Partnerships focus area of the Foundation. VII's existing research database of 700+ research studies and reports, assets and content will continue to be available here. We look forward to continue working with the VII team and progress our collaboration. Read the press release here.

Partnership on dry eye disease education

The World Council of Optometry (WCO) and Alcon have partnered to form a global, evidence-based dry eye disease education initiative designed to raise optometrists’ understanding of dry eye etiology and prevalence, diagnosis, and practical management. We look forward to the activities of this partnership. Read the press release here.

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