Pan-American Association of Ophthalmology

The mission of the Pan-American Association of Ophthalmology (PAAO) is the prevention of blindness through lifelong education and cultural exchange among ophthalmologists in the Western Hemisphere.
The association provides a virtual meeting place for professionals from all over the world to gather as a Pan-American Community and focus on ways to standardize and improve ophthalmic knowledge and skills for the improvement of patient care.

The Pan-American Association of Ophthalmology was founded in 1939 by Moacyr E. Alvaro MD (Brazil), Conrad Berens MD (USA), and Harry S. Gradle MD (USA). The Pan-American Ophthalmological Foundation (PAOF) was founded in 1959 to support the PAAO and its educational programs. PAAO strives to provide continuing education for ophthalmologists, prevention of blindness programs, and cultural exchange.

For over 70 years, the association has been instrumental helping to restore sight in countless numbers of people and has been a leader in elevating the standards of practice of ophthalmology and quality of eye care in the Western Hemisphere.