China-aided cataract blindness elimination project launches in Cambodia

PREY VENG, Cambodia -- A China-aided cataract blindness elimination project was launched on Tuesday, aiming at helping eliminate cataract blindness in southeastern Cambodia's Prey Veng province.

Speaking at the ceremony, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Yim Chhay Ly expressed his sincere thanks to China's GX Foundation for funding the project, which would provide free eye check-ups, treatment and surgery for all cataract patients in the province.

"This project is essential to helping to eliminate cataract blindness for the Cambodian people, and it will greatly contribute to relieving difficulties for cataract patients," he said.

Through the project, the GX Foundation deployed two mobile eye-treatment centers at the Prey Veng Provincial Hospital and sent Chinese doctors to work with their Cambodian counterparts to offer free cataract surgeries to patients in the province.

"This is a new testament to the comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation between our two countries, and it will undoubtedly contribute to the building of a community with a shared future between Cambodia and China," the deputy prime minister said.

Cambodian Health Minister Mam Bunheng said it was the second China-aided project after the first one ended in 2019, which has helped restore eyesight for more than 6,000 cataract patients in the southeastern Kampong Cham province.

The GX Foundation is a non-profit charitable Chinese organization established in Hong Kong. It aims to provide international medical and public-health humanitarian assistance for the Belt and Road countries.