World Glaucoma Week 2012 participation encouraged to continue success

Ivan Goldberg

PARIS — After the success of World Glaucoma Week in the past 2 years, continued work is needed to raise awareness about the disease during the 2012 public awareness campaign, a clinician said here.

The next World Glaucoma Week will be held March 11 to March 17, 2012, Ivan Goldberg, MBBS, FRANZCO, FRACS, said at the World Glaucoma Congress. The first World Glaucoma Day was held in 2008; the program was expanded to a weeklong campaign in 2010, he said.

"The aim is to increase public awareness of glaucoma as the leading cause of irreversible preventable visual disability," Dr. Goldberg said, "to encourage screenings, patient education [and] advocacy on behalf of patients with access to diagnostic equipment and treatment technologies and prevention campaigns, particularly in countries in which angle closure is a problem."

The week is organized around global, national, regional and local coordinators who disseminate information. More than 120 countries have taken part.

"Both the World Glaucoma Association and the World Glaucoma Patient Association invite you and your societies and your colleagues to continue to be involved, to become involved if you haven't already and to share your experiences through the website," Dr. Goldberg said.

For more information, visit www.wgweek.net.

Disclosure: No products or companies are mentioned that would require financial disclosure.