Originally founded in Cologne, Germany in 1927 as the International Optical League (Ligue Internationale d’optique), The World Council of Optometry (WCO) marked its 90th anniversary on March 7, 2017.
Headquartered at the American Optometric Association offices in St. Louis, Missouri, the WCO is the only global optometric body in official relationship with the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners with many eye care organizations which share the same goal of high-quality eye health and vision care being accessible to all people.
WCO serves in the development of optometry around the world and supports optometrists in promoting eye health and vision care as a human right through advocacy, education, policy development and humanitarian outreach worldwide.
The WCO collectively represents over 200,000 optometrists in almost 60 countries through over 200 affiliates, associate, corporate and individual memberships across six world regions: Africa, Asia-Pacific, Eastern Mediterranean, Europe, Latin America and North America. Having a long history of worldwide leadership, past WCO presidents have come from countries all over the world including Australia, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Nigeria, Norway, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Switzerland and the United States.
“Next to life itself is the gift of vision,” WCO President Uduak Udom explained. “The beauty all around, which just amazes us, comes through vision. Most of our learning comes through vision. For these and many more reasons, optometrists around the world are committed to the cause of a world where high-quality eye health and vision care is accessible to all people.”
WCO will be hosting the 2nd World Congress of Optometry to be held in Hyderabad, India from September 11-13, 2017, in partnership with the Asia Pacific Council of Optometry (APCO) and the India Vision Institute (IVI). The central theme of the meeting, Accessible, Quality Vision and Eye Health complements the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Action Plan of Universal Eye Health with a goal of universal access to comprehensive eye care services.
