From March 10 to April 5, a wide range of extracurricular activities are being held for teachers and students alike at primary and junior secondary schools throughout the district aimed at equipping them with basic knowledge of the importance of identifying and preventing eye refraction defects.
Over the years, HKI Vietnam has established a “children’s eye care” programme in Kon Tum, Nam Dinh, Son La and Hanoi, providing free eye care check-ups and glasses for thousands of students.
It has also organised training courses on eye care for teachers and medical staff, as well as promoting communication programmes to extend basic knowledge of eye refraction defects.
A recent survey on using glasses conducted by HKI Vietnam in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City shows that 80% of students fail to wear glasses even they have to wear them to see properly and 30% of students do not inform their parents about problems they experience with their vision.
Meanwhile, half of glasses in Vietnam do not meet minimal required quality standards, which cause bad corollaries if not dealt with properly.
At present, around 3 million of students aged 6-15 suffer from eye refraction defects, two-third of them are short-sightedness.
Ophthalmological doctors warn that if eye refraction defects are not timely treated, they will lead to squint-eyes, detached retina and even blindness.
