A national planning workshop on preventing blindness toward “vision 2020” was held in Hanoi on August 1 by the National Steering Committee on Blindness Prevention (NSCBP).

Present at the three-day workshop were representatives from the Ministry of Health (MoH), the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and domestic and foreign organisations such as the Atlantic Philanthopies (AP), FHF, Helen Keller International (HKI), ITI, Orbis, the Mekong Eye Doctor and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

In recent times with support from the AP, the Vietnam National Institute of Ophthalmology (VNIO) has worked with 16 eye units in provinces and cities nationwide to carry out a national survey on blindness and an assessment of staff involved in blindness prevention.

Blindness prevention measures have been introduced widely since 1986. With the MoH’s direction, the VNIO’s management and support from international organsations, the blindness rate fell significantly from 0.63 percent in 2002 to 0.43 percent in 2007.

After holding successful regional conferences in the North, Central and Southern regions, this workshop will discuss and develop a national plan to prevent blindness and lead the Vietnamese ophthalmology sector in the right direction towards “vision 2020”. The plan will also help the ophthalmology sector to develop fast and in the right direction to reduce the blindness rate and develop advanced techniques in par with regional and international countries.