28th APAO-AIOS 2013

 18^thJanuary, 2013, Hyderabad, India– The 28^thAsia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology Congress in conjunction with the 71^stAnnual Congress of All India Ophthalmological Society is being held in Hyderabad dated on 17^th January to 20^th January,2013 . AIOs are the largest Association of eye surgeons in India and the second largest in The World with over 15,000 members. The Three Day Congress will begin from 17^thJanuary is being held at the Hyderabad International Convention centre (HICC) and HITEX, Madhapur, Hyderabad. 

The APAO-AISO 2013 be participated 10,000 National and International delegates inaugurated by President Of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee.

Speaking on this occasion he said, “While programmes like the National Programme for control of Blindness yielded appreciable results, Govt. alone would not be able to combat blindness as effectively as collaborative ventures”.

He said, “The private Sector Companies should not consider this a burden but as way of discharging their Social obligation”.

President of India said, the need for Collaborative initiatives was important comparatively simple inter-venations at appropriate time would help prevent blindness.

For instance, cataract could be treated by a relatively simple surgery. “In this effort, Individual doctors also can contribute by sparing one or two days in a month for Social service”.  He added.

Observing that medical teams could travel to the interiors of the country in Mobile operation theatres with the help of voluntary organizations, he said if the local medical associations could take this initiative in collaboration with the Ngo’s in Towns and districts, it would make a distinct difference.

He further added it has been estimated that there were around 1.4 million children in the world and one million of them live in Asia and Africa.

Ophthalmology in India has a long history starting with Sushruta who is considered the first surgeon of the world as well as the father of cataract surgery. Now, India has the world’s largest blind population, a whopping 20 per cent of the global blind population.

Up to 80 percent of blindness cases are curable or preventable. In numerous cases if proper detection is done in time, blindness can be prevented. Cataract is the most common cause in India. Refractive error or ‘Sight’ as common people call it is the most common cause for visual impairment and generally affects about 25 % of the population.

WHO predicts that developing countries will bear the brunt of this epidemic in the 21st century. Currently, more than 70% of people with diabetes live in low- and middle income countries. With an estimated 50.8 million people living with diabetes, India has the world's largest diabetes population, followed by China with 43.2 million. Various studies conducted in India show that 15–20% of the diabetic population develops Diabetic Retinopathy, said Dr. Lalit Verma, Secretary General, APAO-AIOS 2013 Congress.

Program like the APAO-AIOS will help the eye specialists in India to upgrade their knowledge. The Congress will provide an opportunity for the participants from across India as well as from other nations to update their knowledge and learn the latest developments in the field of ophthalmology. There will be several Sessions, Courses, Paper presentations, etc. in all fields including basics and advances on Eye and various subspecialties viz. Cataract, Cornea and External Eye Disease, Glaucoma, Neuro-Ophthalmology, Ocular Pathology Tumors, Orbits and Oculoplastics, Pediatric Ophthalmology Strabismus, Retina, Refractive Surgery, Intraocular Inflammation, Uvetis Scleritis, Ocular Imaging, Ocular Microbiology and Ocular Infectious Diseases, Ophthalmic Epidemiology, Orbits and Oculoplastics, Prevention of Blindness, etc. and others. 

President-Pranab-Mukherjee lighting the-lamp-and-inaugurating-APAO-AIOS-2013-Congress at-Hyderabad Photo Taken PTI