City's commitment to eye care is plain to see

The rate of blindness in the city has been reduced from 0.48 percent in the 1980s to the current 0.27 percent due to eye care services, cataract treatment and blindness prevention campaigns, the Shanghai Health Commission said on Saturday, National Eye Care Day.

Shanghai's eye care service system, which caters for different age groups, has achieved great success. It has had the highest number of surgeries for cataracts among every 1 million population in China for years, and is in line with medium developed countries.

The screening for fundus complications for diabetics has been perfected in recent years, and now covers 200,000 patients.

To control the rising prevalence of adolescent myopia, Shanghai started to set up database for young people's vision in 2010, and provides services and education to students with a high risk of myopia or suffering from myopia.

The Shanghai Eye Disease Prevention and Control Center has developed a guideline to regulate a community-based children’s vision health management plan to provide support and direction on eye care to youngsters.