Orbis completes US$1mln eye care project in central Vietnam

Orbis flying eye hospital has recently completed its US$1 million project providing eye care services for children in the northern central provinces of Vietnam.    
December 20, 2019 | 11:24
orbis completes us 1mln eye care project in central vietnam Take a look inside Orbis Flight Hospital - the world's only flying eye hospital
orbis completes us 1mln eye care project in central vietnam Orbis Flying Eye Hospital returns to Hue for free eye care
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orbis completes us 1mln eye care project in central vietnam
The project aims to reduce the rate of blindness and vision impairment among children in the localities by increasing children’s access to eye care services at the two hospitals in Hue

Not all children have easy access to ophthalmic service, especially comprehensive and quality ophthalmic service. As recommended by the World Health Organization, one children’s eye care center is required for every 10 million people, where at least one specialty-trained or oriented ophthalmologist should be available.

To accomplish that goal, Orbis has been assisting Vietnamese partners to build full network of eye care, which is able to provide timely and quality services to Vietnamese people at reasonable prices. Up to now, 6 ophthalmology departments in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh city, Da Nang, Can Tho and Binh Dinh have been built.

In Hue, thanks to the support from Orbis’ project, Hue Eye and Hue Central Hospital have all become reputable names for eye care in central provinces.

Accordingly, the project worth 23 billion VND (US$1.06 million) to provide eye care services for children in the northern central provinces of Vietnam, was carried out from 2014-2019 at Hue Eye and Hue Central Hospital. It aims to reduce the rate of blindness and vision impairment among children in the localities by increasing children’s access to eye care services at the two hospitals in Hue.

The project results have exceeded expectations. Specifically, 37,704 children were screened for eye diseases (117% of the target), 26,048 children were treated medically (reaching 144% of the target) and 1,594 eye surgeries were performed by Hue Eye Hospital (reaching 82% of the target). Doctors, nurses and technicians are also trained to improve their capacity.

Currently, Hue Eye Hospital has been able to treat complex children’s eye diseases, including strabismus, drooping eyelids, cataracts, glaucoma.

Nam Phong