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 Can Tho Eye and Odonto- Stomatology Hospital will provide eye check-ups 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 children in the Mekong Delta have yet to access eye care services.
The Orbis Flying Eye 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.
