We arrived in Thua Thien Hue on April 15th. We hadn’t originally planned to visit Thua Thien Hue, but realized we could squeeze in a trip to the country’s former capital en route to Da Lat. We ended up having an extremely productive detour.
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Archive for the ‘Health’ Category
Vietnam Travels: A Vocational Center, A Clinic, and Four Schools in Thua Thien Hue
Wednesday, May 1st, 2013Vietnam Travels: The Vietnam – Japan Eye Hospital in Hanoi
Wednesday, April 17th, 2013Not a moment goes to waste when we’re in Vietnam. The night before we left Hanoi, we realized that we could squeeze in one more visit to the Vietnam – Japan Eye Hospital (VJEH), where a cataract surgery mission is taking place, before we had to be at the airport for our flight to Da Nang. So we decided, why not?
We arrived at VJEH a little after 10, later than expected because of Hanoi traffic. Even though we informed VJEH that we would stop by less than an hour prior to our arrival, Dr. Nguyen Vu Thien, who manages much of the hospital’s operation, was there to greet us.
Vietnam Travels: Health in Nam Dinh
Friday, April 12th, 2013The past two days in northern Vietnam have been a flurry of activity. Yesterday, the VNHELP team in Vietnam started our day at 6:30 am and didn’t get back till 11:30 pm! We visited Nam Dinh province, a three hour drive from Hanoi, where we have a number of health projects.
Project Update: Restoring Sight to Vietnam’s Poor
Tuesday, November 13th, 2012Cataracts are a serious issue in Vietnam. According to a 2011 study in the journal BMC Opthamology:
Cataract is the leading cause of blindness in Vietnam, affecting 87.6 new cases per 100,000 each year and causing approximately 65% of all blindness. There is currently a very high prevalence of blindness, affecting 4,304 people per 100,000. Of even more concern is the staggering numbers who are living with low vision, approximately 18,086 people per 100,000, much of which is caused by untreated cataract.
The good news is that cataracts can be treated through a relatively simple procedure. The bad news is that the cost of a procedure, which hovers around $350 – $400 in Vietnam, can be far too expensive for many poor patients. Recognizing the need and realizing that this is a fixable situation, VNHELP decided to initiate the Vision for the Poor program in 2007 to sponsor free cataract surgeries for low-income patients across Vietnam. We also established a matching fund, where we meet donations of $5000 and above, to encourage donors to give to the program.
