Vietnam
The Problem
- In Vietnam, cataract accounts for 70% of blindness; the surgical backlog is immense and growing.
What HKI Is Doing
Helen Keller International has been supporting blindness prevention programs in partnership with the Vietnam National Institute of Ophthalmology (VNIO), also known as the National Eye Hospital in Hanoi, since 1990. Current programs include:
Cataract Treatment
Helen Keller International delivers sustainable solutions for the backlog of cataract surgeries in Vietnam. HKI works with VNIO to implement the Comprehensive Cataract Care (CCC) model. Comprehensive Cataract Care is an integrated approach that attempts to bridge the medical interventions required for cataract treatment. The aim is to develop a sustainable, comprehensive system that includes building community awareness, patient identification and referral, service promotion, and post-operative patient care. The project also focuses on developing a quality assurance mechanism through an eye health monitoring and evaluation system that could be instrumental in patient identification and tracking for delivering post-surgery, follow-up services. The CCC model has been established at hospitals in underserved provinces, including Can Tho, Binh Dinh, Binh Thuan, Ha Tinh, Nam Dinh, and Kon Tum. With support from The Nippon and Starr Foundations, HKI and its partners have delivered over 4,225 free cataract surgeries to poor beneficiaries since 2008.
Primary Eye Care (PEC) Training
Since 2009, HKI and the National Eye Hospital (NEH) have trained 832 communal health workers from six provinces in primary eye care issues using a PEC manual updated by HKI. Once completing the course, trainees assist the provincial eye care hospitals to screen and refer patients who have cataract and other eye related diseases to appropriate facilities for further treatment. Since 2008, HKI, in collaboration with the NEH, has trained 23 eye surgeons in cataract surgery in order to increase local capacity and improve the quality of cataract surgery.
Community Ophthalmology (CO)
Following an October 2007 assessment, it was decided to develop a short, in-service course on CO for district doctors. A CO manual and other public health materials were developed, and a short course on CO for provincial and district eye health personnel was designed, piloted and established at the NEH. Since then, the NEH has assured a strong commitment to the program and has established the Community Ophthalmology Training Unit (COTU) within the hospital. To date, 104 provincial eye doctors and local health staff have been trained in CO.
