Prince Abdulaziz bin Ahmed, chief of Saudi Ophthalmological Society, at the inauguration of the Second International Red Sea Ophthalmology Symposium at the Hilton Hotel in Jeddah on Thursday.

Prince Abdulaziz bin Ahmed, chief of the Saudi Ophthalmological Society, inaugurated the Second International Red Sea Ophthalmology Symposium under the patronage of Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal at the Hilton Hotel in Jeddah on Thursday.

The symposium was organized by the Saudi Ophthalmological Society (SOS) in collaboration with Jeddah Eye Hospital, the ophthalmology departments of King Abdulaziz University, Taif University, Umm Al-Qura University, Taibah University, Al-Baha University, and King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences.

The conference was attended by a number of equipment manufacturers, companies, agents, medical specialists and experts in the latest technological advances.

Prince Abdulaziz bin Ahmed said in his statement that it was a great pleasure to welcome everyone to the second Red Sea Ophthalmology Symposium. He added that since the establishment of SOS, ophthalmologists, optometrists and related professionals in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have greatly benefited.

Under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and the Honorary President of the SOS Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, the society continues to strive to achieve its goals.

He noted that all efforts will be made to provide the strongest and most comprehensive symposium in the Western Region. The conference this year will focus on the new updates in ophthalmology relating to cataracts, corneas, refractive surgery, retina procedures, optometry, ophthalmic anesthesia and ophthalmic nursing through lectures, courses, workshops, wet-labs as well as exhibitions showcasing the latest equipment in the field. A number of international and local speakers will also be present to share their clinical and research experience.

He thanked the Scientific and Organizing Committees for their genuine efforts and dedication in organizing the symposium.

Dr. Ali bin Mohammed, chairman of the Organizing Committee and the representative of the Saudi Ophthalmological Society in the Western Region, said that the three-day conference will discuss the importance of medical education and will include 20 training courses, a workshop, 16 specialized sessions to discuss 60 research papers, as well as 50 national and international speakers who will present talks on important topics related to ophthalmology to the more than 1,500 participating doctors and consultants.

There are 285 million visually impaired people worldwide, out of which almost 39 million people are blind due to unfortunate accidents. Meanwhile, 246 million people have weak vision, and almost 19 million children are visually impaired. Statistics show that there are 1.4 million blind children who are in need of constant visual rehabilitation. Additionally, 75 percent of cases of visual impairment lead to blindness, which can be avoided through the efforts of doctors and eye surgeons.

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