65% of the blind are women

There will be many eye examination and treatment activities and medicine supply for patients with visual diseases on World Vision Day. TS.BS Tran Thi Phuong Thu, Director of HCMC Eye Hospital has just given the above information.

Around the world, there are about 37 million blind people, 124 million poor eyes, 60–65% of blind women, and 80% of blind people live in developing countries. Therefore, World Vision Day 2009 will take the theme of gender equality.

Screening for eye diseases will prevent many visual diseases.(Photo: TP)

World Vision Day is celebrated on the second Thursday of October every year. On this day, people were given medical examination and treatment and given free visual treatment medicines at locations where the visual response activities took place. The goal of 2020 is that there will be no blind people due to preventable and treatable diseases such as cataract, refractive error, corneal disease, glaucoma .

Representative of HCMC Eye Hospital, Dr. Tran Thi Phuong Thu, Director of the hospital said that the hospital has many activities to respond to this day: Glaucoma screening organization and free medicine distribution for female patients. 55 years old on October 8 at Eye Hospital (280 Dien Bien Phu, District 3, HCMC); examination, counseling and drug supply for 2,000 people at the Cultural House of District 11, Ho Chi Minh City on October 10; coordinate with the Center for Health Education and Communication to hold a talk about visual diseases.

In Hanoi, responding to this day, Associate Prof. Dr. Tran An, Deputy Director of Central Eye Hospital said that the activities will be carried out: Free eye examination and treatment at Tay Ho District Sports Center; Mobile eye surgery is free in Ninh Binh and Hoa Binh - these are the two localities with the highest number of people donating corneas in the country.

The above activities were jointly organized by HCMC Eye Hospital, Central Eye Hospital and Rohto - Mentholatum (Vietnam). This year, this annual activity will take place from October 10 to October 28, in 5 provinces: Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Quang Binh, Binh Phuoc and An Giang.