Nearly 150 patients, particularly women, old people and children were examined and prescribed free medicine. Also on September 27, VRC’s volunteers took part in a campaign to encourage people to donate their corneas.

This year, the Central Eye Hospital has liaised with the VRC, with the support of Orbis, to carry out many similar activities such as providing 25 patients with free eye surgery in two communes in Ninh Binh province on September 24 and 25.

Various other activities will be held in response to World Sight Day 2009, such as meeting and honouring people who have donated their corneas. 

World Sight Day is an annual event held on the Thursday of the second week in October to bring attention to the world’s community the global issue of avoidable blindness and visual impairment.

The event is under the Vision 2020 Global initiative launched by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Agency for Prevention of Blindness.