Vietnamese paediatric patient Dieu talking to doctors

Fighting Blindness in Vietnam

There are 300,000 adults and 23,000 children in Vietnam who are blind. While blindness in Vietnam has decreased over the last decade, the country continues to struggle with providing eye care, especially in rural areas. Quality of care, training and human resources still remain problematic, and overall awareness of how to prevent blindness is low.

In school, Hoa’s classmates mocked the appearance of her eyes, calling her “squinter”. Her schoolwork suffered because she couldn’t see clearly. See how Orbis helped to make Hoa’s magic wish come true.

Success in Vietnam

We began collaborating with Vietnam’s ophthalmic communities through hospital-based projects in 1996. A permanent office was established in Hanoi in 2003.

Orbis has been providing the highest level of expertise to support the development of eye care services and blindness prevention in Vietnam – especially in the areas of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), pediatric and cataract services and in establishing an eye bank.

In 2020 alone, we delivered:

Since 2015, Orbis has worked to strengthen the eye health system in the country, focusing on the quality of services and human resources.

In 2010 Dr. Black, a pediatric ophthalmologist from New Orleans, Louisiana, treated eight-year-old Quang Chien for strabismus. Find out what happened when Dr Black returned to see her again.

What We're Doing Next

Orbis plans to address the constraints of eye care system in Vietnam through three key strategies: expanding quality pediatric eye care services in more regions across the country; strengthening human resources for eye health; and increasing the availability of eye care services for diabetic patients.

Our work includes developing models to ensure quality of care and quality of human resources that can be replicated and maintained by the government. The first model reflecting international standards for diabetic retinopathy – which poses a risk to four million people with diabetes in Vietnam – is in the pilot stage and requires further resources to be replicated nationwide.

With your support we can continue reforming ophthalmic education in Vietnam and advocating for eye health to become a priority on the public health agenda.

A Mini Series of Eye Care Work in Vietnam

Vietnam: Truc can look forward to a lifetime of being able to see clearly

March 22, 2021

Suffering from strabismus in both of her eyes, three-year-old Truc was at risk of losing her sight. But thanks to Orbis supporters and our local partners in Vietnam, she got the sight saving treatment she needed.
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PRESERVING SIGHT FOR PREMATURE INFANTS IN VIETNAM’S MEKONG DELTA

January 06, 2021

For young doctor Le Thi Mong Kieu from Can Tho Pediatric Hospital, providing screening and treatment for Retinopathy of Premature (ROP) is now a skill she carries out with confidence, but this wasn’t always the case.
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Support Retinopathy of Prematurity in Vietnam

January 06, 2021

“Without my eyesight, I cannot see my parents, go to school and play my favorite toy, playdoh” said Thinh.
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DAI'S WORLD WAS A BLUR — UNTIL NOW

October 01, 2020

Imagine that you are nine years old. All you want is to spend your days playing with friends outside, riding your bike and exploring your neighborhood. But the world is a strange, dangerous place … because you were born with cataracts. When you can’t see clearly, even walking out your front door is scary.
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Vietnam: Young tam saved from a life of blindness

August 13, 2019

Tam from Quy Nhon, Vietnam, struggled with his vision from an early age. But thanks to your support, and the work of our Vietnam country office and partners we were able to give Tam his sight back without any cost to his family. Tam was diagnosed with bilateral cataracts and had it not been spotted in time, he would have been blind permanently.
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Vietnam: Phuong no longer teased at school

August 13, 2019

Phuong from Hoai Nhon, Vietnam, was three months old when her family first spotted her crossed-eyes. After years of wrongly being told that glasses would fix her poor vision, an Orbis-supported school screening program finally gave little Phuong & her anxious mother hope for the future.
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Vietnam: Nothing can stand in Khang's way now he can see

August 06, 2019

Khang, 6, from Vietnam was born with ptosis later developing a squint which - if left untreated - can cause blindness. Thanks to the help of our supporters and amazing partners enabling him to have the two sight-saving he needed, this bright boy can see without struggling again.
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Patient stories: following up with strabismus patient Trinh from Vietnam

October 04, 2018

On her way to school, Trinh was knocked down by a truck and was in a coma for more than two weeks. When she woke up from her coma, she suffered from strabismus - misaligned eyes - which affected her vision. She was operated on at the Flying Eye Hospital in 2017. Looking at her now, you would never know that her eyes used to be misaligned!
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What We're Doing Next

Orbis plans to address the constraints of eye care system in Vietnam through three key strategies: expanding quality pediatric eye care services in more regions across the country; strengthening human resources for eye health; and increasing the availability of eye care services for diabetic patients.

Our work includes developing models to ensure quality of care and quality of human resources that can be replicated and maintained by the government.

The first model reflecting international standards for diabetic retinopathy – which poses a risk to four million people with diabetes in Vietnam – is in the pilot stage and requires further resources to be replicated nationwide.

Fighting Childhood Blindness in Vietnam

May 19, 2017

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Donate today! Support our works in Vietnam!

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