Lions Clubs International has supported 4.3 million cataract surgeries
in China since 1997 when it partnered with the Chinese government to
improve eye health.
Lions also worked with Chinese health officials on its SightFirst China
Action project to establish surgical eye units in 104 rural counties
that previously had none. Current initiatives include creating secondary
eye care units at hospitals in 200 less developed counties, cities and
provinces and establishing eye health training courses for paramedics
who work among the poor in western and northern provinces.
The World Health Organization estimates that twenty percent of those
blind in the world live in China.
“The commitment by the Chinese government and the China Disabled
Persons’ Federation to SightFirst China Action is a key to this
successful partnership. Working together, we have increased the number
of persons in China receiving surgeries annually from 200,000 in 1996 to
over 600,000. This is one of our largest and most successful SightFirst
programs,” said Dr. Clement F. Kusiak, chairperson of Lions Clubs
International Foundation (LCIF), the grant-making arm of Lions Clubs
International.
LCIF’s SightFirst program is a worldwide blindness prevention
initiative that has prevented vision loss for hundreds of millions.
SightFirst, LCIF’s largest program, combats blindness by building
hospitals and clinics, training doctors, nurses and other healthcare
workers, distributing medicine and raising awareness of eye disease.
SightFirst fights the major causes of blindness: cataract, river
blindness, trachoma, and, especially in developed nations like the
United States, diabetic eye disease and glaucoma. SightFirst also
supports the Lions/WHO Global Project for the Elimination of Avoidable
Blindness in Children, the first worldwide initiative addressing
childhood blindness.
A team of WHO experts and representatives from LCIF, the Ministry of
Health and the China Disabled Persons’ Federation undertook an
evaluation of SightFirst China Action in March. The evaluators split
into teams, completing work in the three provinces of Guizhou, Henan,
and Liaoning. The findings of the evaluation indicated that the
project’s targets are being surpassed.
Phase I of SightFirst China Action supported 2.1 million cataract
surgeries. The goal for Phase II is another 2.5 million surgeries.
“SightFirst China Action Phase II has completed 88% of the 2.5
million cataract surgeries planned for 2002 – 2007 in a three-year
period,” said Dr. Wing-Kun Tam, Executive Chair of SFCA. “With
this level of enthusiasm and support, we know the goal will be
surpassed. Even more important, training of almost 20,000 eye care
personnel helps to guarantee the long-term impact of SFCA in blindness
prevention in China.”
Based in Oak Brook, Illinois, Lions Clubs International is the
world’s largest service club organization with over 1.35 million
members in approximately 46,000 clubs in 197 countries and geographical
areas around the world. Since 1917, Lions clubs have aided the blind and
visually impaired and made a strong commitment to community service and
serving youth throughout the world. For more information about Lions
Clubs International, visit the Web site at lionsclubs.
Lions Clubs International Foundation(LCIF)
300 W. 22nd St.
Oak Brook, IL 60523-8842
USA
lcif