WORLD COUNCIL OF OPTOMETRY ACHIEVES
OFFICIAL RELATIONS WITH WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

ORLANDO, Fla. June 24, 2004 – The World Council of Optometry (WCO) has been admitted into official relations with the World Health Organization (WHO) by a unanimous decision of the WHO Executive Board, which is composed of 32 Member States. The WHO’s decision considered the history of collaboration between the two organizations and their plans to continue working together to improve access to vision and eye care, especially for people in need worldwide. The WCO is one of only 189 organizations worldwide to currently be in official relations with the WHO, and is the first and only optometric organization to have this designation.

“This is a historic opportunity that will enable the optometric community to directly contribute to the mainstream of international public health,” said WCO President Damien P. Smith, AM, MScOptom, PhD, FAAO. “We take enormous pride in being among the select group of organizations to establish official relations with the World Health Organization. We look forward to working with them as part of a global partnership that will play a significant role in the VISION 2020: The Right to Sight initiative.”

VISION 2020: The Right to Sight is a collaborative effort between the WHO and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) and its constituent members to eliminate the main causes of avoidable blindness by 2020. During the first World Congress on Optometric Globalization presented by the WCO earlier this week, Serge Resnikoff, director of Prevention of Blindness and Deafness Programs of the WHO, outlined the mission of VISION 2020 and collaborative opportunities.

The granting of official relations to the WCO formalizes a working relationship that the WCO has enjoyed with the WHO over the past years. Through its commitment to education and humanitarian endeavors, as well as its ability to work effectively with fellow health organizations, the WCO has demonstrated a strong ability and desire to take on prevention of blindness initiatives globally and achieve results.

In working to achieve official relations, the WCO established a work program in 1999 that emphasized international networks and shared public health goals. In 2000, the WCO formalized an agreement with the coordinator of the WHO Prevention of Blindness and Deafness Program for a two-year Joint Work Program and worked with the American Public Health Association to adopt a resolution on preventable blindness. The WCO also expanded its Fellowship Program to every world region and sponsored symposia on the WHO’s global
initiatives. Most recently, the WCO maintained momentum in garnering support for VISION 2020 by creating a CD-ROM on the initiative, collaborating among multiple nongovernmental organizations and developing funding sources.

About the WCO and the WHO

The WCO is an international organization dedicated to the enhancement and development of eye and vision care worldwide. Representing over 50 countries, the WCO serves as a forum for member organizations to respond to public health needs and opportunities around the world. The WCO is a unifying voice and catalyst for international projects and services that meet the needs of the optometric profession, ophthalmic industry and public they serve.

The WHO, the United Nations specialized agency for health, was established on 7 April 1948. The WHO’s objective, as set out in its Constitution, is the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health. Health is defined in the WHO’s Constitution as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

The WHO is governed by 192 Member States through the World Health Assembly. The Health Assembly, composed of representatives from all Member States, is the supreme decision-making body for WHO. Its main function is to determine the policies of the Organization; it also supervises the financial policies and reviews and approves the Organization’s budget.