Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan has asked Vietnam National Eye Hospital to build a national programme to prevent blindness until 2020.

The deputy PM said he hopes the hospital will continue to effectively implement its three functions of treatment, training and research in the coming time, as well as enhance international cooperation.

A total of 12,747 outpatients and 22,348 inpatients were treated at the hospital last year.

The Deputy PM visited and presented gifts to children at the hospital on July 1, its 56 th founding anniversary.

Established in 1957, the hospital has grown considerably. It has 450 beds, 10 clinical departments, 5 paraclinical and 9 functional departments equipped with modern technology.-VNA