Illustrative image (Source: VNA)Can Tho (VNA) – The 2017 Orbis Flying
Eye Hospital Programme was launched in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on May
8 with the two main partners of Can Tho Eye and Odonto- Stomatology Hospital
and Pediatrics Hospital.
This is the first time the programme has
been implemented in the city by the International Agency for the Prevention of
Blindness (Orbis).
From May 7-19, the Flying Eye Hospital and
will provide eye for
children aged from 3-15.
After that, the Flying Eye Hospital will
offer free surgeries and treatment. It is scheduled to treat 12 children who
are suffering eye-related diseases and provide surgeries for 32 others every
week.
The Orbis hospital will also help train
Vietnamese anaesthetists, nurses and technicians.
According to Orbis, Vietnam ranks fourth in
Asia in the rate of blindness. About 3 million Vietnamese children are
estimated to be visually impaired, of whom 23,000 are blind.
It is estimated that about 300,000 in
the Mekong Delta have yet to access eye care services.
The Hospital is the world’s
only airborne ophthalmic surgical and training facility, which Orbis uses to
support developing countries in preventing blindness and protecting people’s
eyesight.
In Vietnam, Orbis has implemented long-term
projects since 2000. It helped form pediatric eye care centres in Hanoi, Hue,
Da Nang, Can Tho and Binh Dinh.-VNA
Source: VietnamPlus
