Hanoi (VNA) - As many as 180 children with differentdeformities in the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien have been receivingfree medical checks-up and surgeries under a charity programme from June 18-24.

Organised by Centre II of the Vietnam Relief Association for Handicapped Children, the provincial DienBien General Hospital and the Vietnam Children Sponsor Fund, the programme benefited children withcleft lips and palates, and those with mobility impairments and post-burn sequel, defects inears, eyes, genital tracts and benign tumors.

Expenses for the operation programme were provided by the Child Surgery Vietnamorganisation, while other costs were paid by the Vietnam Children Sponsor Fund of Dien Bien province.

Centre II Director Dong Van An said the activity is part of theprogramme to assist disabled children in five northern mountainous provinces,namely Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Son La, Lao Cai and Lang Son. Initiated in 2006,the programme has benefited 4,000 local children.

A programme to provide free medical advices for infertile couples in central localitieswas held recently in the Da Nang Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital.

Doctor Nguyen Thi Phuong Le, director of the hospital’s infertile ward, theprogramme helped beneficiaries get more understanding about and access to effective,safe, and modern reproduction assistance methods.

The hospital began the in-vitrofertilisation (IVF)service in March 2014 and reaped encouraging results. Its infertile ward receives about 12,000 time-patients each year, and more than100 babies were born thanks to the method.-VNA