A seminar was held by HCM City’s Eye Hospital on September 6 to discuss retina disease in newborns, with the participation of representatives of ORBIS International, a nonprofit humanitarian organization dedicated to blindness prevention and treatment.

ORBIS delegates said that since 2003, the organization has provided more than US$5 million to Vietnam’s ophthalmic sector and has helped restore eyesight for about 75 percent of one million blind Vietnamese people, most of whom are newborns.

In addition, the agency has annually invested roughly US$2 million in other areas and its funding for Vietnam in 2007 is expected to reach US$2.5 million.