OAK BROOK, Ill. — Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) has appointed Dr. Wing-Kun Tam to the global advisory council of the Pediatric Cataract Initiative (www.PediatricCataract.org).
The newly founded Initiative is utilizing the resources of the Bausch + Lomb Early Vision Institute and LCIF to identify, fund and promote innovative methods of overcoming pediatric cataract — a debilitating childhood eye condition — for the long-term benefit of children, their families and their communities.
Dr. Tam was recently elected as the first vice president of Lions Clubs International at its International Convention in Sydney, Australia. He will become president of Lions Clubs International in June 2011.
Dr. Tam was instrumental in launching the “SightFirst China Action” program in 1990 between LCIF’s SightFirst Program and the People’s Republic of China. This partnership paired Lions Clubs blindness prevention mobilization efforts with financial support for SightFirst China Action, and was matched by US$200 million from the Chinese government. Since the program’s launch, SightFirst China Action has restored sight by providing cataract surgeries to more than five million people in China and strengthening the eye care infrastructure by creating secondary eye care units at hospitals in 200 counties with under developed eye care within China’s provinces and in Tibet.
He is a member and/or chairperson of numerous boards and committees of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) government. He has been the Hong Kong Convention Ambassador since 1995. Prior to the establishment of the Hong Kong SAR, he served as a Hong Kong district affairs advisor.
Dr. Tam is a justice of the peace in the Hong Kong SAR. He was appointed honorary consul of the Republic of Kenya in the Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR of the People’s Republic of China as well as commissioner for the Kenya Tourist Board - Far East.
His vast experience with LCIF’s worldwide blindness prevention efforts and LCIF’s collaboration for initiatives within China will add to the Pediatric Cataract Initiative’s global advisory council’s expertise. The PCI Advisory council is comprised of renowned eye health experts from around the world, including:
- Gullapalli "Nag" Rao, M.D. (Board Chairman). Dr. Rao is founder of the LV Prasad Eye Institute (Hyderabad, India), and he is known worldwide for his humanitarian efforts to prevent blindness.
- Joseph Barr, O.D., MS, FAAO. Dr. Barr is vice president of Global Clinical & Medical Affairs and Professional Services (Vision Care) for Bausch + Lomb (Rochester, N.Y.). He is an emeritus professor of Optometry and Vision Science at Ohio State University, and the emeritus editor of Contact Lens Spectrum.
- Sean P. Donahue, Ph.D., M.D. Dr. Donahue is professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (Nashville, Tenn.).
- Clare Gilbert, M.D., MSc. Dr. Gilbert is professor of International Eye Health at the International Centre for Eye Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London University (U.K.), and a global authority on childhood blindness.
- Scott Lambert, M.D. Dr. Lambert is professor of Ophthalmology and Pediatrics at Emory University (Atlanta, Ga.).
- Lipika Roy, M.D., MBA. Dr. Roy is head of Asia-Pacific Medical Affairs for Bausch + Lomb (Singapore). A pediatric ophthalmologist, she was formerly the assistant director of research, ophthalmology, for Singapore’s National Health Care Group.
Pediatric Cataract is a clouding of the eye’s natural lens. Causes include intrauterine infections such as pregnancy rubella, metabolic disorders and genetically transmitted syndromes.
For additional information, visit www.PediatricCataract.org or follow the Initiative at www.twitter.com/PCInitiative.
# # #
About the Bausch + Lomb Early Vision Institute
The Bausch + Lomb Early Vision Institute is a program of the global eye health company focusing on children's vision research, treatment, prevention and advocacy. Founded in 1853, Bausch + Lomb is one of the best-known and most respected healthcare brands in the world, with its contact lenses and solutions, ophthalmic pharmaceuticals, and ophthalmic surgical products available in approximately 100 countries. For more information, visit www.bausch.com.
About Lions Clubs International Foundation
Lions Clubs International Foundation is the grant-making body of Lions Clubs International, the world’s largest volunteer service organization. The LCIF SightFirst program, Lions’ flagship initiative, builds comprehensive eye care systems to fight the major causes of blindness and care for blind and visually impaired persons. Since 1990, the SightFirst program has helped restore sight to more than 30 million people around the world, having invested more than US$237 million in surgeries, the improvement of hundreds of eye care facilities and training of thousands of eye care professionals. For more information, visit www.lcif.org.
United States
