Pham Ngoc Dong, director of the Central Eye Hospital, cited the figures at a conference on cataract and refractive surgery held in Hanoi on September 26.
Health Ministry statistics show that refractive errors affect an estimated 15-40 per cent of the population, with rates of 30-40 per cent in urban areas compared with 15-20 per cent in rural areas.
In Hanoi and HCM City, the rate among children exceeds 50 per cent.
Dong said cataracts remain a major cause of blindness, accounting for about 74 per cent of cases. Other causes include retinal diseases, corneal scarring, glaucoma and refractive errors.
Nguyen Trong Khoa, deputy director of the Health Ministry's Department of Medical Services Administration, said advances in technology were changing diagnosis and treatment, with techniques becoming more precise, less invasive and quicker.
He called on hospitals to review technical procedures and treatment processes to ensure patient safety, professional quality and efficient use of medical resources.
The conference brought together more than 500 ophthalmology specialists and researchers, hospital management experts and speakers from Singapore, China, Indonesia and Germany.
Discussions covered advances in cataract diagnosis and surgery, intraocular lens selection, management of surgical complications and modern treatments for refractive errors.
They also addressed hospital management, digital transformation, patient safety, workforce management and improvements in healthcare services.
Khoa said refractive errors, particularly myopia among children and adolescents, were becoming an increasing health concern, while cataracts remained a key focus of blindness prevention.
The ophthalmology sector will focus on improving eye care, early detection and treatment of refractive errors, particularly among children and school-age students.
Under national targets for blindness prevention by 2030, the blindness rate is to be reduced to fewer than four per 1,000 people, while more than 95 per cent of schoolchildren with refractive errors are targeted for early screening and corrective lenses.
