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PAAO Congress promotes humanitarian, educational goals
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SANTIAGO, Chile — Prevention of blindness, service to the poor and education in ophthalmology are three dominating themes of this year’s Pan-American Congress of Ophthalmology, according to Congress President Juan Verdaguer, MD.
“We have goals and hopes that are more far-reaching than improving our clinical skills,” Dr. Verdaguer said during the Congress’ opening ceremony.
The awards handed out during the ceremony appeared to illustrate Dr. Verdaguer’s point. Among the handful of awards was the Benjamin F. Boyd Humanitarian Award, presented to Rafael T. Cortez, MD, of Venezuela; the Carl Kupfer Award for Prevention of Blindness, presented to Giovanni V. Salas Villanueva, MD, of Peru; and the Gradle Medal for Good Teaching, which went to Harley A. Bicas, MD, of Brazil.
In presenting the Humanitarian Award that bears his name, Panama’s Dr. Boyd said he considers the award to be the “symbol of the PAAO’s reason for being.”
This year is the third time in its 66 years in existence that the Pan-American Association of Ophthalmology (PAAO) has held the meeting in Chile.
Organizers said this meeting has drawn some 2,500 participants to Santiago. While the majority of attendees are from Latin America and most sessions are held in Spanish or Portuguese, Dr. Verdaguer stressed that international friendships and cross-border collaboration are the key to the PAAO’s success.
“The Pan-American Association is not a closed club. We welcome the participation of our esteemed colleagues from other parts of the world,” he said.
Stating that he is a “firm believer in Pan-Americanism,” Dr. Verdaguer thanked the PAAO for the opportunity to establish life-long and “almost familial” relationships with colleagues from throughout the Americas.
Rubens Belfort, MD, past president of the PAAO, also cited the organization’s “tradition of accepting diversity” before introducing outgoing President J. Bronwyn Bateman, MD. Dr. Bronwyn Bateman briefly outlined some of the PAAO’s accomplishments over the past few years, including a new training program in Mexico City for ophthalmology residents and young practitioners that she said will hopefully be extended throughout Latin America.
The incoming president of the PAAO, Dr. Enrique Graue Wiechers, said this initiative will figure among his top priorities over the next 2 years. Dr. Graue, associate medical editor of Ocular Surgery News Latin America Edition, closed the session with an energizing call to narrow the education gap in Latin American countries, enforce collaboration between national societies and promote the availability of research funds and scholarships to ophthalmologists in the Americas.
Next February the PAAO joins with the International Council of Ophthalmology in Sao Paulo, Brazil, for the World Congress of Ophthalmology, which reportedly has some 7,000 attendees already registered, according to organizers.