As many as 170 poor patients, including many Khmer people, inhabiting the remote district of Tieu Can in the southern province of Tra Vinh were given free eye surgery on July 15.

The programme was carried out by the Sponsoring Association for Poor Patients (SAPP) and Nguyen Trai Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, along with the Red Cross in Tra Vinh province.

SAPP covered the total cost of over 420 million VND. In addition each patient received a gift worth 400,000 VND from the association.

Another 100 disadvantaged people in Cau Ngang and Duyen Hai districts received free eye surgery on July 14, funded by Le Hiep, an overseas Vietnamese living in the US.

The province offered eye tests to over 17,900 patients in 2012, detecting nearly 1,970 with cataracts, said Chairman of the provincial Red Cross Tran Van Don.

Over 1,400 poor people in the province have received free eye surgery so far, Don added.-VNA