Ophthalmic Surgical Training at Hue Eye Hospital

Almost 70% of Vietnam’s population lives in rural villages where blindness often goes untreated. Many people living in these areas don’t realise that cataract blindness is treatable and their sight can be restored with a simple operation. Cataracts cause 71% of blindness in central Vietnam, but the area is extremely under-resourced and has inadequate eye care services.

Recently, major metropolitan hospitals and private eye centres in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi have improved the quality of their eye care services and made access easier.

The WEN Giving foundation supported the Fred Hollows Foundation’s programme in Hue Province from 2006-2009. The community-based eye care network was established with Hue Eye Hospital and the surrounding four districts. The programme provides eye care equipment and facilities, as well as surgical and technical training for ophthalmologists.