This is Vietnam’s most modern phacoemulsification training centre and is equipped with modern facilities worth over US$600,000 funded by Alcon – the most trusted eye care company worldwide.

Present at the opening ceremony were representatives from the Illinois Association of Ophthalmology, in the US, the Alcon company, the Ministry of Health (MoH) and domestic eye doctors all over the country.

Truong Viet Dung, head of the Education and Training Department under the MoH said that the establishment of the centre will not only help the healthcare sector training eye doctors to meet the increasing demand but will also help the MoH to set up similar centre under international standards.

The centre is expected to train 50-60 surgeons per year. The VNIO will conduct 6 training courses in 2010 for 55 doctors who will be taught by leading Vietnamese and international experts. After the course, trainees will return to their hospitals to carry out cataract surgeries using their new knowledge. All expenses for the courses will be funded by Alcon company.

 According to associated professor Do Nhu Hon, VNIO director, cataracts are the main cause of blindness in Vietnam (66 percent). It is estimated that around 1.2 million blind people are waiting for surgery and there are around 150,000 new blind people per year. This is a great challenge for the ophthalmology sector. The establishment of the centre will help train competent surgeons to meet the increasing demand for preventing blindness in the future, Mr Hon said.