An elderly patient (center) poses for a photo with healthcare workers of GX Foundation after a cataract surgical operation, in Laos, on April 24, 2023. (JIANG JIAXUAN / CHINA DAILY)

The 1,000th free cataract surgical operation performed in Laos by GX Foundation was completed on Monday, marking a seminal milestone in its projects to eliminate cataract blindness.

The projects aimed at allowing five countries along the Belt and Road route to stand tall and declare “we’re free of cataract backlogs”, as Leung Chun-ying, chairman of the foundation, hopes. Leung is also vice-chairman of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

The landmark 1,000th surgical operation was carried out for free in the Laotian capital, Vientiane, after the foundation launched its project in the region in September 2022.

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The milestone surgery was one of the thorniest and most herculean tasks for the doctor Wei Leqiang, as the 76-year-old patient had suffered from the most severe degenerative vision impairment caused mainly by the defective cataract having been left untreated for a long time. The operation took 35 minutes – one of the longest Wei had undertaken since he joined the project.

In the second half of this year, GX Foundation hopes to launch cataract projects in Senegal and Mauritania, and will continue to send medical teams to Laos, Cambodia and Djibouti regularly

Edging from the staircase at Vientiane’s Mobile Eye Treatment Centre and accompanied by nurses, the patient, Mai Tilathatkimkao, had her left eye covered with a gauze pad. She grinned from ear to ear, with a twinkle in her right eye, wrapping her arms around people waiting for her to “come out of the blurry shell” outside the makeshift operation room. Her beam was radiant as she had been waiting for the moment for four years.

Mai’s youngest daughter, Pink Phetsamone, was her “walking stick” round the clock, having taken her mother on a motorcycle to the hospital – an almost one-hour drive from their home on the outskirts of Vientiane.  

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“Having cataract surgery had always been on her mind since she first mentioned it to me three years ago,” said Pink. There are ophthalmic clinics and hospitals that perform cataract surgery, but it’s prohibitively expensive for the family, which eke out a living by the income from her second elder sister - the sole breadwinner.  “I can’t afford it,” laments Pink. “Besides, the quality of the surgery and the qualifications of the surgeons are patchy with no guarantee of success. We refused to take a risk,” said Pink, adding that the health and safety of her mother is everything to her.“She had been pestering me every day about the possibility of her undergoing surgery. She was desperate for it.”

The 76-year-old Mai Tilathatkimkao (left) and her daughter. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Pink got to know GX Foundation’s cataract elimination program on Facebook. With faith in the Chinese medical team from Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region -- their skills and dedication – Pink made up her mind to travel to the capital city’s downtown, hoping to secure a chance to restore her mother’s vision against all odds. 

GX Foundation will hold a series of public education activities in the future to educate young people about international humanitarian aid, providing opportunities and platforms for them to volunteer for work in countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative

Arriving at the hospital at 8 am on Monday, she found dozens of patients with cataract blindness had already queued up for registration, going through tests and screenings that were well organized. Operations were then carried on patients who were deemed suitable for surgery in the mobile operation room, which was rigorously sterilized and scrupulously equipped. This is the hospital’s daily routine, with possibly up to 50 surgeries being performed in a day.

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GX Foundation’s medical team is currently performing free cataract operations for local patients in Laos and Cambodia. In the second half of this year, it hopes to launch cataract projects in Senegal and Mauritania, and will continue to send medical teams to Laos, Cambodia and Djibouti regularly. The foundation aims to complete 9,600 surgeries in five countries by the end of 2023.

The 1000th cataract surgery patient also has dementia. She’s eagerly looking forward to seeing her 12-year-old grandson at a temple again after regaining her eyesight. Lei Wei, another doctor from the Guangxi medical team, said he was delighted they have, so far, handled more than 1,000 cataract cases in Laos. Sharing his unforgettable experience in performing surgeries on a father and his son, Lei said the 31-year-old policeman had initially planned to go to Thailand for a cataract operation. 

A cataract patient takes an eye check before proceeding to the surgery. (JIANG JIAXUAN / CHINA DAILY)

But, GX Foundation’s Cataract Blindness Elimination Program has made treatment easily accessible, thus enabling the policeman to be treated in Laos, saving him the time for travel and the costs. On the same day, the medical team also carried out an operation on the man’s father, who had suffered from cataract blindness for three years. Lei was pleased to see both the father and son have now restored their sight, independence and dignity in life.

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Emily Chan Ying-yang, chief executive officer of GX Foundation, said she’s grateful to all the members of the Chinese medical team, the foundation’s partners and staff for their dedicated efforts in supporting its projects in three countries in Asia and Africa.

“There were no complications in the operations after they were completed. This reflects the distinguished skills of the Chinese doctors,” said Chan. GX Foundation will hold a series of public education activities in the future to educate young people about international humanitarian aid, providing opportunities and platforms for them to volunteer for work in countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

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Chan hopes that these activities and operations will deepen people-to-people connectivity, which is among the core values the BRI adheres to.

GX Foundation launched its second round of cataract projects in Prey Veng Province, Cambodia, in December 2022. In February this year, 2023, it started its first African project in Djibouti, East Africa.