Eyesight First China Action offers free cataract surgery
( 2003-10-18 11:35) (Xinhua)
One hundred poverty-stricken cataract patients in Nanjing, capital of east
China's Jiangsu Province, were offered free surgery Friday to help regain their
vision.
This was one local program under the second phase of Sight First China
Action, which was jointly launched in 1997 by the Chinese government and the
Lion's Club International, one of the world's largest charity organizations.
The beneficiaries of the program, which aims to help needy patients, are from
impoverished families in Nanjing which could not afford the surgery costing
about 6,000 yuan (US$723 US) for both eyes. Aged from four to 90, the patients
were peasants, workers or laid-off workers.
More than 20,000 cataract patients in Nanjing had recovered their eyesight
after receiving help during the first phase of the Sight First China Action from
1997 to 2001.
In the second phase from 2002 to 2006, 20,000 more cataract patients in
Nanjing will benefit from the optical program.
China's vision-impaired population numbers about nine million, including four
million who lost their vision due to cataracts.
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