The International Federation of ORL Societies (IFOS), is a non-political organization representing over 50,000 Otolaryngologists belonging to about 120 member nations. There is a huge global discrepancy in available resources and manpower and this greatly modulates our activity.

IFOS was founded in 1965 to provide continuity between World Congresses, it has evolved to deal on a global basis with the problems of people with ORL disease by means of an active secretariat and committee structure; lobbying the World Health Organization; a leader in the global program for hearing loss prevention; providing interchange between centers, especially in Europe through the Twin Cities Project; publishing a newsletter and maintaining the interactive website. It has a continuing medical educational role and has developed a model undergraduate curricula; it has now initiated CME conferences between World Congresses and recently started the Worldwide Action "Hearing for All".