THE 2024 Silk Road Brightness and Benevolence Initiative kicked off in the Kathmandu Valley on Saturday and will provide cataract surgeries for 70 underprivileged patients in Nepal. As part of a program launched by Shenzhen, these patients will undergo cataract surgeries free of charge by doctors from Shenzhen Eye Hospital.
Over 600 underprivileged cataract patients in Nepal have regained their sight following surgeries since the initiative was launched in 2014, said Sarbottam Shrestha, first vice president of the executive committee of the Arniko Society. The society’s members include scholars and experts who studied in China.
More than 2,000 cataract patients in countries including Nepal, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and Laos have been treated as part of the initiative over the past decade, and these surgeries have had a 100% success rate.
Speaking during the launch ceremony, held at a hospital in the city of Bhaktapur in the Kathmandu Valley, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Chen Song noted that China-Nepal medical and health cooperation has achieved fruitful results in recent years, bringing tangible benefits to people of the two countries and becoming a special part of the friendship.
He called the Silk Road brightness program “one of the highlights” of their cooperation.
Also during the launch ceremony, medical supplies were donated to the Arniko Society and the Chinese Temple. (Xinhua)
