Nearly 1,280 cataract sufferers in the
Tibet Autonomous Region regained their eyesight last year,
thanks to a state-sponsored medical program.
The majority of the patients were farmers and herdsmen, ranging in
age from 4 to 93, reported Xinhua news agency.
Due to the high altitude and excessive exposure to ultra-violet
rays, Tibetans have a cataract incidence rate double that of other
parts of the country. Yet most counties and townships in Tibet have
no eye hospitals.
The current program is the fourth, and the largest, of the "Sight
First China Action" project, aimed at helping cataract sufferers
regain their sight.
More than 4,800 patients with eye diseases in Tibet's 32 counties
were diagnosed and received treatment last year. All cataract
sufferers had artificial lenses implanted.
The Sight First China Action project was launched in 1997 by the
Ministry of Health, the Chinese Disabled Persons' Federation, and
Lions Club International.
It
was aimed at helping 1.75 million people regain their eyesight and
to train 11,000 ophthalmologists at hospitals across the country
between 1997 and 2001.
So
far, more than 1.2 million cataract patients have been operated on
and some 11,000 medical workers have been trained.
(eastday.com February 15,
2002)