Project Background
In Vietnam, there are about 2.1 million people working in the manufacturing industry, with women making up to 90% of the workforce.Female factory workers represent a vulnerable population. They are often young, under-educated women who move from rural areas in search of work. These workers receive a low salary and work long hours, but rely on the income security and independence this work provides.
Free eye screenings are essential for female factory workers like Nguyen Hong (pictured below), who can easily develop work-related eye issues and are unable to afford medical services or find the time to access them.
A recent survey conducted by The Fred Hollows Foundation found that many factory workers experience headaches, watery eyes and blurred vision caused by hours focusing on fine needlework and repetitive over long periods.
Project Activities
Through this project, The Foundation empowers female workers to access eye care services in their workplace by providing free eye exams and glasses for women diagnosed with eye problems.
Educational sessions have been key to improving female workers understanding about eye health. Importantly, factory medical staff are trained in eye health to ensure that basic eye care is available on an on-going basis.
The project has also helped to create eye-safe workplaces by introducing new safety measures, such as improved access to eye rinses and protec-tive goggles to limit eye injury caused by exposure to dust, chemicals and lighting.
These direct interventions are showing a positive effect on worker productivity and engagement.
To date, this project has proved successful in reaching large numbers of female workers in their workplace. The Foundation’s Vietnam team will continue to survey factory workers to assess improvements in eye health.
Project Outcomes
In 2018, as part of the broader project, your support contributed to the following outcomes for female factory workers in Vietnam:
- 13,527 people screened
- 42 sight-restoring treatments performed
- 1,397 spectacles distributed
- 27,268 people educated in eye health
Of these results, your direct support helped us deliver 3,111 screenings, provide 321 spectacles for workers with refractive error and 9 sight restoring operations.
Case Study: Nguyen Hong
At a shoe factory in Vietnam, 32-year old Nguyen Hong meticulously inspects a large sheet of leather. She is looking for defects, such as tears or marks. She cuts the leather into pieces that will later be turned into shoes of all shapes and sizes.
Three years ago, Hong noticed her vision was becoming blurry. She found it difficult to do her job, often missing defects on dark and hairy leather sheets.
“I know my eyes have a problem, but it would take at least two working days for the eye examination and treatment” said Hong.
“I would lose the salary for these days and I won’t have enough money to pay for my daily family expenditures.”
Working the industries six days a week is a common barrier for factory workers unable to access basic eye health services. If vision problems are left untreated, these workers risk losing their jobs, leaving them unable to support their families.
Fortunately, The Fred Hollows Foundation recently supported eye screenings for more than 13,547 factory workers in Vietnam. Thankfully, Hong was one of 1,397 people who received free a pair of glasses to correct her blurry vision.
By delivering eye health care to their workplace and during work hours, Hong and other factory workers no longer have to worry about the added expense of getting their eyes checked.
With her new glasses, Hong can now see clearly. She can cut leather quicker and makes fewer mistakes at work. She is thankful that she can once again help her children with their homework and is more conscious about maintaining good eye health for her family.
What Next?
This pilot project enters its final year in 2019.
At the end of the project period, successes and challenges will be re-viewed and new activities will be considered for the wider roll-out of the project to new factories in Vietnam.
The Foundation currently supports nine projects across the country and continues to address avoidable blindness by supporting surgeries and screenings, training eye health professionals, providing equipment and new technology and advocating to make eye health a national priority.
Can I Visit this Project?
Interested donors need to contact The Foundation.
Project Background
In Vietnam, there are about 2.1 million people working in the manufacturing industry, with women making up to 90% of the workforce.
Female factory workers represent a vulnerable population. They are often young, under-educated women who move from rural areas in search of work. These workers receive a low salary and work long hours, but rely on the income security and independence this work provides.
A recent assessment shows that factory workers in Vietnam face a number of eye health concerns. In one particular industry, over 65% of workers experienced eye aches, 43% had blurred vision, and 35% had eye infections.
There are currently no formalised eye health interventions for factory workers in Vietnam, so since 2017, The Fred Hollows Foundation has been trialling an innovative new model that introduced eye health services to the manufacturing sector in Vietnam for the first time.
Project Overview
This project is working to strengthen the eye health of female factory workers in Vietnam.
The Fred Hollows Foundation has developed an innovative way to educate, screen, and refer female factory workers to ensure that they have good eye health and that they work in a healthy environment.
Through working with factory management, this project has developed action plans to ensure eye health care is central to their workplace. This plan includes the following activities:
- Install vision corners, for workers to self-assess their vision;
- Equip the factory’s medical rooms with basic ophthalmic equipment;
- Train medical room staff in eye care and screening;
- Train factory management in eye health and occupational eye care; and
- Organise educational activities for workers on eye health and occupational eye health and safety.
The Foundation is also ensuring that the pathway from screening to being referred to the local partner hospital is clear and utilised by workers, and that for workers that need it, treatment is subsidised.
These activities will result in an improved environment for eye health in the factory, in improved knowledge of eye health for workers, and improved services for workers.
What's Covered in Project Cost
In 2019, as part of the broader project, your support will allow The Fred Hollows Foundation to achieve the following outputs for female factory workers in Vietnam:
- Screen 18,957 factory workers;
- Support 63 sight restoring treatments, including cataract surgery; and
- Educate 18,000 factory workers in eye health and safety.
Partners and Community Involvement
The Fred Hollows Foundation always works in partnership with like-minded organisations and health providers to ensure the largest possible reach and impact of our sight restoring work.
In this project, The Foundation has partnered with local Trade Unions to implement this work successful. Trade Unions are already established to represent workers’ rights and interests, and has proved a useful link between The Foundation and the factory workers. Further, The Foundation partners with local hospitals in the region, who receive referred patients from the factory’s medical staff and perform necessary treatments.
Part of a Larger Strategy
This pilot project enters its final year in 2019.
To date, this project has proven to be a successful model that has had a positive impact on the eye health of women working in factories in Vietnam.
At the end of the project period, successes and challenges will be reviewed, and new budgets and activities will be proposed for the wider roll-out of the project to new factories in Vietnam.
The Fred Hollows Foundation will continue to work in Vietnam until avoidable blindness has been eliminated. The Foundation is currently implementing nine projects across the country, and will ensure that the work Professor Fred Hollows started more than 25 years ago carries on.