Meeting marks World Sight Day, Asia-Pacific Eye Care Week

A meeting was held at the Eye Hospital in the southern province of Ba Ria - Vung Tau on October 8 in response to World Sight Day and the Asia-Pacific Eye Care Week. (Photo: VNA)

Ba Ria - Vung Tau (VNA) - A meeting was held at the Eye Hospital in the southern province of Ba Ria - Vung Tau on October 8 in response to World Sight Day and the Asia-Pacific Eye Care Week.

Speaking at the event, Director of the provincial Health Department Pham Minh An said a survey has revealed that 27.7 percent of local people aged above 50 face vision impairment or blindness, with the leading cause being cataracts.

Ba Ria - Vung Tau has also seen an increase in the number of people suffering from non-communicable eye diseases such as refractive error, diabetic retinopathy, and age-related macular degeneration, An added.

He took the occasion to highlight the efforts of the local health sector to effectively prevent and control eye diseases. The province has built an eye-care network with a far-reaching impact across local communes, wards, villages, and hamlets, while taking advantage of technology transfer and applying science and technology in treatment, he said.

At the meeting, the hospital also received donations from businesses and organisations for its operations and research.

Fifty students from the Tan Hung Secondary School in Ba Ria city with refractive error were given free glasses and check-ups by doctors from the hospital.

World Sight Day is an annual day of awareness held on the second Thursday of October, to focus global attention on blindness and vision impairment. It takes place on October 8 this year, with the theme “Hope In Sight”.

The Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology has organised its Asia-Pacific Eye Care Week since 2012 to raise public awareness about eye care and eye health in the region./.