Delegates from 43 VBA chapters nationwide focused on encouraging businesses to recruit disabled people, create suitable vocational training programmes for visually impaired people and improve public awareness of measures to reduce poverty amongst blind people.

They agreed that the State policies on social welfare have brought practical benefits to the lives of many people, particularly the poor, including disabled people in general and the blind in particular.

However, the delegates pointed out the low standards of living and poor skills among their members, especially those in rural and remote areas and in its staff.

They underlined that blind people earn low incomes compared to the minimum salary.

According to VBA President Dao Soat, his association tries every year to generate 1,000 new jobs to ensure 80 percent of trained members get jobs with a stable income and all blind people benefit from state welfare schemes and health insurance.