A grand ceremony was held Saturday to launch a joint campaign to
make the Tibet Autonomous Region a "Cataract Control Zone".
As part of the "SightFirst China Action" Phase II jointly
launched by the China Disabled Persons' Federation, the Ministry of
Health, and the Lions' Club International, Tibet is expected to
become a "Cataract Control Zone" by 2007.
The first phase of the "SightFirst China Action" was launched in
China in 1997. Up to 2002, 2.1 million operations on cataract
patients were conducted, far exceeding the targeted 1.7
million.
The second phase of the program aims to conduct 2.5 million
cataract operations throughout the country. In Tibet, 12,500
cataract operations are expected to be done.
(Xinhua News Agency May 15, 2004)