China sets up advisory committee to curb myopia

BEIJING — China's National Health Commission has instituted a special expert advisory committee to help tackle the rising incidence of nearsightedness among children and teenagers.

Built upon an existing panel previously consisting exclusively of ophthalmologists, the new committee has enlisted the help of professionals in multiple fields, including myopia prevention and treatment, infant health, public health, traditional Chinese medicine and health education.

It was founded with a mission to provide professional advice for strategies and policies related to eye health management and, in particular, the prevention and control of myopia, a condition that affected 53.6 percent of Chinese youngsters according to statistics in 2020.

The immediate tasks facing the committee are evaluating and appraising provincial efforts in 2019 in myopia prevention and control and providing instructions and training to a pilot program in the same field.

In its three-year tenure, the first lineup of the committee is expected to consult on technology standards and government efforts in drafting relevant laws and regulations.

China has proposed to effectively curb child obesity and myopia in the outline of its 14th Five-Year Plan for national economic and social development and the long-range objectives through the year 2035.