The project helps to improve the quality of eye treatment services for children in Hanoi’s 14 districts and precincts.

Hanoi Eye Hospital, the Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) and the Fred Hollows Foundation (FHF) held a meeting in Hanoi on April 15 to review the implementation of a children blind prevention project in the past year.

The project runs for three years from January 2010 to December 2012 with total capitalisation of USD508,810, of which USD439,810 comes from the FHF and Standard Chartered Bank and the remaining from the Hanoi City People’s Committee.

The project aims to improve the qualification of eye doctors and medical staff at local hospitals and teachers’ awareness of eye protection. Pupils and poor children in 14 districts will be provided with glasses and have better access to high quality eye care services

Within a year the project has yielded significant results, providing eye checks-up to 174,245 pupils at 216 primary and junior secondary schools in Hoan Kiem, Hai Ba Trung, Ba Dinh, Dong Da, Tay Ho and Dong Anh, detecting 13,558 pupils with refractive diseases and offering 1,581 glasses for pupils in Dong Anh and Soc Son districts.

The project has so far provided ophthalmology equipment worth US$51,960 for Hanoi Eye Hospital and has put an eyesight weakness training room into operation since April 15.

In coordination with the Young Pioneer Newspaper, the FHF has launched a contest from January to September 2011 to teach pupils how to protect their eyes.