WEDNESDAY,
SEPTEMBER 1, 2010
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 and
www.Facebook.com/PediatricCataract.
SOURCE