Standard Chartered commits USD1 million for a new "Comprehensive Eye Care Development Project" in Vietnam (2013 - 2016)
Hanoi, 11 October 2012 - To celebrate World Sight Day 2012, Standard Chartered Bank (Vietnam) Limited, in conjunction with the Fred Hollows Foundation and Hanoi Eye Hospital, held a ceremony today at Hanoi Eye Hospital to announce a new "Comprehensive Eye Care Development Project". This will be the fifth phase of a long term eye care program sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank in Vietnam since 2004. Standard Chartered committed to donate over USD1 million for the new project.
This event is a part of Standard Chartered's global “Seeing is Believing” campaign. Since 2004, the previous four phases of Seeing is Believing have helped millions of people in Vietnam by: restoring eye sight; preventing blindness; providing equipment and qualified personnel; and providing eye care services and training.
Phase IV of the program, under the theme of “Vietnam Urban Childhood Blindness Prevention”, provided eye care services for 766,254 children in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The program also delivered 14,695 pairs of glasses and 258 free eye operations at the Hanoi Eye Hospital. Additionally, eye care training was provided for thousands of school teachers and health personnel. A health education campaign was launched to raise awareness of the need for eye care. And finally, an Orthotic room was built and put into operation at the Hanoi Eye Hospital. 
Ms. Vu Thi Thanh, Director of Hanoi Eye Hospital said: “Thanks to the good collaboration with Fred Hollows and the sponsorship of Standard Chartered Bank, Hanoi Eye Hospital is proud to have improved sight and eye-screening for thousands of children in Hanoi over the past few years. We hope that this meaningful project will reach out to more children throughout Vietnam and help bring a brighter future for these children.”
The latest project will run from 2013 – 2016, and will bring “Comprehensive Eye Care Development” in support of local health authorities. It will strengthen eye health services and infrastructure for the delivery of high quality, affordable and accessible eye care in [remote areas in Vietnam. The campaign will contribute to the reduction of avoidable blindness and visual impairment in Vietnam.
Standard Chartered will be partners in the project with the Fred Hollows Foundation, a non-government organization that seeks to eradicate avoidable blindness in developing countries. This will be the fourth partnership between the Fred Hollows Foundation and Standard Chartered. Standard Chartered will donate at least USD1 million to the project, which will cost nearly USD1.3 million. 20% of the project cost will be covered by the Fred Hollows Foundation.
Mr. Louis Taylor, General Director of Standard Chartered Bank (Vietnam) Ltd., said: “Through our "Seeing is Believing" initiatives, we have been able to help hundreds of thousands of children in Vietnam to have better eye care. In phase V, we aim to extend our reach to more unprivileged children in more remote areas. We hope that through “Seeing is Believing”, we can both deliver great eye care and raise awareness of the issue in the community. As a part of our brand promise, to be “Here for good”, this is another example of Standard Chartered making continuous efforts to deliver a positive impact on the communities in which we live and work”.
Mr. Huynh Tan Phuc, Vietnam Country Manager of Fred Hollows Foundation said: “We are delighted to be the partner of Standard Chartered Bank in helping the community avoiding preventable blindness. We believe that through the phase V of this campaign, there will have an increase in the number and skills of eye care service providers at all levels to improve the quality and sustainability of eye health services.”
At the ceremony, there was a silent auction for all entries from the “Here for Good through children’s eyes” drawing contest, an internal activity for Standard Chartered staff’s children. All funds raised from the auction will be donated to students of Nguyen Dinh Chieu blind school. At the school, Standard Chartered staff joined a tree planting to bring a green educational environment for the children there.