The mission of the Pan-American Association of Ophthalmology is the prevention of blindness through lifelong education and cultural exchange among ophthalmologists in the Western Hemisphere.

This Portal will provide 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 (PAAO) 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. The Pan-American strives to provide continuing education for ophthalmologists, prevention of blindness programs, and cultural exchange.

Pan-American Ophthalmological Foundation



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.

Support the future of Ophthalmology through the Pan-American Ophthalmological Foundation.

This new PAAO Educational Portal has been made possible by generous educational grants from the Allergan Foundation, Bausch & Lomb and the Pan-American Ophthalmological Foundation.