HK foundation helps 260,000 mainland cataract patients

Over 260,000 cataract patients from the Chinese mainland have benefited from a sight-restoring program funded by a Hong Kong-based foundation for the past 16 years.

The Asian Foundation for the Prevention of Blindness (AFPB) has carried out the program for cataract patients in hard-to-reach areas in 24 Chinese provinces and autonomous regions since it donated 30 surgical vehicles in 1996, said Clive Oxley, chairman of AFPB's board of directors.

Oxley said more than 260,000 cataract patients have benefited from the program, as it has allowed them to regain the ability to work.

The northwestern inland province of Gansu has received a great deal of aid from the foundation. Yao Zhenhua, director of the Gansu Disabled Persons Federation, said about 150,000 of the province's 341,000 visually disabled people suffered from cataracts.

Yao said more than 30,000 of the province's indigent cataract patients have regained their sight for the last five years through the foundation's program.

Oxley said the foundation would bring even more resources from Hong Kong to help train doctors at county-level hospitals, as well as donate more facilities to such hospitals.

Formed in 1981, AFPB has raised funds to prevent blindness in Asian countries in partnership with multiple organizations, including the Hong Kong Society for the Blind and the China Disabled Persons Federation. It has also been involved in dietary improvement projects in impoverished areas.