Free eye checks for rural students in Yunnan

Medical experts from over 10 hospitals in China have traveled to rural Yunnan Province to provide free eye disease screening, myopia checks and optometry services to raise awareness of rural children's eye health.

The Bright Eye Hospital Group experts also promoted eye disease prevention and control through education lectures, free optic examination and glasses processing.

Ten doctors, nurses, opticians and volunteers of the group participated in the charity program launched by Essilor Vision Foundation and the Sichou County Education and Physical Education Bureau in Yunnan.

The bureau said the program will help establish a comprehensive prevention and management system on kids' eye health through education, prevention, screening and timely diagnosis and treatment.

The group said it has been a long-term partner of Essilor Vision Foundation in such charity programs.

A project called Bright Kids Vision Care Program was initiated in 2016, resulting in over 160,000 students in 11 provinces and municipalities getting health checked and vision screened. Nearly 40,000 students have been offered free optometry.

The incidence of myopia in China is 14.5 percent in children aged up to 6, climbs to 36 percent in primary school students, jumps to 71.6 percent in middle school students and then to 81 percent in high school kids, according to the National Health Commission.