The Jordan Times
By Laila Azzeh


AMMAN- The 12th International Congress of the Jordanian Ophthalmological Society opened in the capital on Wednesday to enable sector experts to share their knowledge and examine new research in the field.

The three-day biannual conference brings together 92 ophthalmologists from 24 Arab and foreign countries, making it a look-for event for specialists from around the world, according to participants.

Speaking at the opening of the congress, HRH Princess Basma highlighted that eye diseases also have severe economic and social repercussions as they prevent those affected from practising day-to-day activities.

This makes them fall prey to the cycle of poverty and discrimination, especially women, she noted.

The princess added that women who are blind suffer twofold as they do not have access to the basic resources required to take care of themselves physically and financially.

Add to that their limited mobility and vulnerability to poverty and discrimination, she said.

Let us consider other factors - social and cultural - that contribute to the prevalence of eye diseases in Arab countries, such as the lack of awareness and heredity arising from marriages among relatives, Princess Basma noted.

She cited a Jordanian family with 10 children, all of whom have visual disability.

This is beyond tragic. We must increase and strengthen awareness of health issues to curb the spread of such cases.

Citing World Health Organisation figures, the princess said the prevalence of blindness in the Arab world is more than double that in industrial countries, calling for doubling the efforts of the concerned bodies in the region to address the issue.

Underlining strides made by Jordan in the field, she noted that the National Eye Bank was established in 1979, with the number of cornea donors reaching more than 3, 820 so far.

The congress was organised by the Jordanian Ophthalmological Society (JOS) in cooperation with the European Society of Ophthalmology, the Middle East Africa Council of Ophthalmology, the World Society of Paediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus and the Jordanian Association of Optometrists.

JOS President Issam Batayneh noted that there were 15 practising ophthalmologists in Jordan when the society was established in 1976, compared to 400 currently.

An average of 1.3 per cent of Jordanians over 50 suffer visual impairment, while the international rate is 0.58 per cent, according to the JOS.

More than 15 specialised workshops are being held during the conference along with 21 lectures and discussions of 39 papers.

On the sidelines of the event, Princess Basma inaugurated a medical exhibition where 40 companies are displaying equipment and medication.