Doctor honoured for contributions to blindness prevention in Asia-Pacific

ABO/NDO- Doctor Nguyen Viet Giap, Director of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Eye Hospital, has been honoured with the 2023 Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO) Outstanding Service in Prevention of Blindness Award.

The award, the noblest in the field of ophthalmology in the region, was presented to the doctor along with 17 others at the 38th APAP Congress in Malaysia on February 25.

Giap is the sixth member of the Vietnam Ophthalmological Society (VOS) to have received the honour since the association was set up more than 60 years ago.

According to VOS, with over 30 years of experience in ophthalmology, Giap has so far conducted more than 50 scientific research projects and raised valuable initiatives.

At the award ceremony (Photo: VNA).

In the past decade alone, his initiatives have helped more than 114,000 elderly people access free medical checkups and treatment, and 17,500 others receive surgeries.

Thanks to his efforts, the rate of blindness among the residents over 50 years old in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau dropped from 3.31% in 2007 to 1.69% in 2020.

More than 200,000 local students were also provided with free checkups and treatment, and some 15,000 poor students were presented with glasses.

In the nomination letter to the APAO Award Committee, VOS President Professor Ton Thi Kim Thanh described Giap as a dedicated, highly skilled doctor with many creative ideas and great contributions to ophthalmological examination and treatment activities and blindness prevention in the community.

Along with directly giving checkups and treatment to tens of thousands of patients, Giap has actively engaged in training activities. He has organised more than 200 training courses to over 2,500 medical staff in localities and schools, along with more than 10,000 consultations events on eye protection in the community.

(Source: NDO)