World Sight Day observed in Vietnam

he event was organized by Vietnam’s National Institute of Ophthalmology in support of World Sight Day.

Free eye exams were provided to the poor and social policy beneficiaries throughout the day. The institute also plans to conduct 100 free eye surgeries in Bac Giang province.

Cataracts remain the leading cause of visual impairment around the world. In Vietnam alone,  more than 400,000 people suffer from cataract blindness, with one-third of them too poor to afford treatment. Looking toward the VISION 2020 initiative, Vietnam is striving to conduct 250,000 cataract surgeries each year, and reduce blindness in the population to less than 0.3 percent.