Alarming Rise in Childhood Vision Impairment in Vietnam: Urgent Need for Digital Environment Solutions

In Vietnam, a concerning trend of declining vision, particularly refractive errors like myopia, among children has been observed in recent years. On August 6th, a symposium titled "Solutions for Improving Vision in the Modern Era" was held at the headquarters of Nhan Dan (People's) Newspaper in Hanoi. The event aimed to clarify the trend of early onset of refractive errors in Vietnam and discuss solutions for safe vision care and correction for young people in the digital environment. The symposium highlighted the alarming increase in childhood refractive errors, emphasizing the significant impact of modern lifestyle habits such as increased screen time on digital devices like smartphones and tablets, and reduced outdoor activities. Experts stressed that to curb this trend, a societal shift in awareness and proactive measures to protect children's eyesight are crucial. Specifically, the introduction of new technologies for treating refractive errors and the application of predictive technologies for vision changes were proposed. These advancements are expected to contribute to the development of more effective and safer treatment plans tailored to each child's visual condition. The symposium also featured discussions on how advanced technologies, such as SMILE Pro Vision ID, can be applied in the treatment of refractive errors. Organized by the Nhan Dan newspaper, the official organ of the Communist Party of Vietnam, this symposium shed light on the critical public health issue of child vision protection in Vietnam and served as a platform to explore concrete solutions.