In response to the World Sight Day 2022 themed ‘Love your eyes’, Da Nang has provided free vision screenings for over 580 pupils in Hoa Bac Commune, Hoa Vang District as part of its School-based Eye Healthcare Project for the 2021-2024 period.

Pupils in Hoa Bac Commune participate in the free eye examination programme.

In addition to eye checkups, 58 pairs of myopia glasses have been given to needy pupils of the Hoa Bac Primary School and Nguyen Tri Phuong Secondary School. Currently, about 10% of the total pupils in Hoa Bac Commune have refractive errors.

Nguyen Ngoc Bao Nhi, a 13-year-old pupil at the Nguyen Tri Phuong Secondary School said that she was really happy to have her eyes examined by doctors and nurses. “Through eye check-ups and eye-related competitions, I have a better understanding of the importance of eyes to life” added she.

Mr. Pham Minh Vu, Headmaster of the Nguyen Tri Phuong Secondary School, highlighted the significance of the city’s School-based Eye Healthcare Project in helping local pupils better understand the importance of their eyes, and providing timely nearsighted glasses for children with myopia so they can see better in lessons, thereby improving the quality of teaching and learning activities.

In the coming time, the project will continue to carry out targeted activities, including deployment of documents on eye care and blindness prevention for elementary and junior high school pupils.

The aforementioned project, funded by the Fred Hollows Fund in Viet Nam, follows the success of the School-based Eye Care project and the Bright Eyes project during the 2016-2020 period.

During the vision screening for pupils in Hoa Bac Commune, Hoa Vang District, a lot of modern eye examination equipment have been used such as Tomey RC-800 Auto Ref-Keratometer

After 5 years of implementation, the two projects achieved some remarkable results. In particularly, around 200,000 pupils accessed free eye tests, nearly 10,000 pairs of myopia glasses were distributed free of charge to needy pupils and 27 poor pupils with cataracts underwent free surgery.

As part of the School-based Eye Healthcare Project for the 2021-2024 period, some training courses on improving communication skills on eye care have been organised for about 3,000 teachers and school medical staff, creating a premise in implementing eye care for school pupils citywide.

Mr. Ngo Ngoc Hoang Vuong, Head of the Politics and Thought Office of the Da Nang Department of Education and Training remarked that this was a very practical programme for pupils in Hoa Bac Commune, helping pupils change perception of eyes and know more methods to protect their eyes.

Reporting by CHANH LAM - Translating by M.DUNG