China's Lifeline Express opens window of hope in Central Asia

Guo Lei, head of the Lifeline Express' office at the commission's International Health Exchange and Cooperation Center, said 989 free cataract surgeries were successfully performed in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan last year, bringing the total number of surgeries carried out in Shanghai Cooperation Organization member-states to 2,187. This realization achieved the goal of offering 2,000 such surgeries by 2025, ahead of schedule.

Lifeline Express has set up four blindness prevention centers overseas, in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Nepal. "We intend to establish long-term and systematic cooperation with these countries to enhance care for local patients, foster medical exchanges and ensure that our work can achieve social, economic and humanistic objectives," she added.

At the center in Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe, which started functioning in late May, Guo said that the project donated two million yuan ($278,500) worth of ophthalmic equipment, medicines and other medical supplies; doctors from the Peking Union Medical College Hospital also pioneered an advanced technique called vitrectomy surgery.

Yu Weihong, chief of ophthalmology at the Peking hospital, has participated in Lifeline Express' overseas programs since 2016, including the recent expedition to Tajikistan from May 26 to June 2.

"Our sustained efforts have helped many cataract patients regain vision, and we have trained local doctors in basic surgical techniques," Yu said. "For this recent mission, we aimed to expand capabilities by introducing more advanced procedures to help patients with severe and complicated diseases."