Organisers & Contacts
ESASO Organising Committee
| President of the ESASO Foundation | Dr. Giuseppe Guarnaccia, Italy |
| Member of the ESASO Foundation Board | Prof. Borja Corcostegui, Spain |
| Member of the ESASO Foundation Board | Prof. Francesco Bandello, Italy |
Scientific Committee
| Chairman | Prof. Francesco Bandello, Italy |
| Co-Chairs | Prof. Neil Bressler, USA Ass. Prof. Tomáš Sosna, Czech Republic |
| Coordinators | Dr. Maurizio Battaglia-Parodi, Italy Dr. Bruno Falcomatà, Italy |
ESASO Congress Contacts
| ESASO / ORGANISER | c/o Università della Svizzera italiana Via Lambertenghi 10 A 6904 Lugano, Switzerland |
| General Manager ESASO | Gabriella Skala, Switzerland gabriella.skala@esaso.org Tel. +41 (0)44 422 4000 or Cell +41 (0)76 300 9000 |
| Scientific Committee Coordinator | Dr. Bruno Falcomatà bruno.falcomata@esaso.org Tel. +39 (333) 31 35 566 Dr. Maurizio Battaglia-Parodi battagliaparodi.maurizio@esaso.org Tel. +39 (340) 855 9739 |
| Scientific Secretariat | Leigh Usherwood, Stephen Marchant c/o Chameleon International Communications, UK abstracts@esaso.org leigh.usherwood@esaso.org stephen.marchant@esaso.org Tel. +44 (0)208 326 3125 |
| Logistics and Travel Management | Luisa Marques, Isabel Oliveira c/o Meeting Point, Professional Congress Organiser congress@esaso.org luisa.marques@esaso.org isabel.oliveira@esaso.org Tel. + 351 214 159 900 |
XOVA
XOVA is an award program sponsored by Novartis Pharma and Alcon and led by international eye care specialists. It provides funding, in the form of a grant, to non-profit initiatives that are expected to have a significant impact on unmet needs in eye care.
Initiatives must be non-profit projects that will help to deliver sustainable improved eye care. While initiatives do not have to be sustainable from the onset, they must have the goal of self funding after a certain period.
The results of the 2012 XOVA will be announced by Professor Francesco Bandello at the 12th International AMD and Retina Congress in Prague, Czech Republic.
XOVA 2013 will be opening for applications on January 1st 2013. For further information, or to download an application form, visit www.xovaprogram.org.
Previous XOVA winners
The first XOVA program ran in 2010. Three winning initiatives were chosen by a panel of international eye care experts.
2010 XOVA winners
Dr Nitin Verma, from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Australia, was awarded a grant to set up teleophthalmology services in Timor Leste, Indonesia. Teleophthalmology services are now available in five out of the six major referral hospitals in Timor Leste.
Ingrid Mason from CBM East Africa received a grant to improve diagnostic equipment maintenance and training for repair technicians in Tanzania and Kenya. Technicians from Tanzania and Kenya have attended training courses in Switzerland and Tanzania, and are now making field visits to hospitals and eye units in Tanzania and Kenya.
Dr Giridhar Anantharaman, from the Giridhar Eye Institute, Kerala, India, was given a grant to increase awareness of diabetic retinopathy in Kerala. Workshops and awareness programs were organized to improve understanding of diabetic retinopathy in health inspectors, district health workers, university students and volunteers, and an awareness day and screening camp for the general public, diabetic patients, and nursing assistants was held.
Following this success, the XOVA program ran again in 2011. Three further winning initiatives were selected by the judging panel.
2011 XOVA winners
Dr Luís Gonçalves, from the Oftalmocenter, Guimarães, Portugal, was provided a grant to establish an ophthalmic center for education and eye care in Guinea-Bissau. Up to May 2012, 500 patients had been examined and 60 cataract surgeries performed.
Right to Sight, in collaboration with the Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin, Ireland, was awarded a grant to establish a cataract surgeon training centre in Kenya. As of May 2012, three surgeons had been trained in small incision cataract surgery.
Dr Himadri Datta, of the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology, Kolkata, India, was awarded a grant to work with non-governmental organizations to improve sight in street children in Kolkata, India. This project is still ongoing.
Photo gallery
Sponsors
This congress is supported by an unrestricted educational grant from:
