Zheng Hong, chief physician from the ophthalmology department of Sanming No. 1 Hospital, China's Fujian Province, checks the eyes of a patient at the Regional Hospital Center of Fatick in Fatick, Senegal, May 2, 2025. (Xinhua/Si Yuan)
DAKAR, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Thiekouta Diouf, an 84-year-old Senegalese cataract patient, was overjoyed to regain sight after receiving a custom-made foldable intraocular lens implanted by Chinese doctors.
The free surgery was performed last Friday inside a mobile surgical unit stationed at the Regional Hospital Center of Fatick in western Senegal by Zhang Zhaode, a veteran ophthalmologist from east China's Fujian Province.
As medical staff helped Diouf off the operating table, a smile lit up his deeply wrinkled face. "The operation was comfortable. I felt no pain," he said. "Thanks to the Chinese doctors, I have hope of seeing again."
His operation marked the 3,603rd procedure completed under a cataract blindness prevention project jointly launched by the GX Foundation, a Chinese non-profit and non-governmental organization registered in China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, as well as the Fujian Provincial Health Commission.
According to a World Report on Vision published in 2019 by the World Health Organization, more than 2.2 billion people globally suffer from visual impairment or blindness. For at least one billion of them, these conditions were preventable or remain treatable. A lack of eye care resources, especially in low- and middle-income countries, remains one of the leading causes.
In Senegal, where the healthcare system remains underdeveloped and high ultraviolet exposure in the tropical savannah contributes to cataract development, the situation is particularly pressing. Many patients miss the optimal window for treatment due to limited medical services.
Senegal's Minister of Health and Social Action Ibrahima Sy described blindness and visual disorders as major public health issues, noting that nearly 165,000 people in the country are blind and more than 550,000 suffer from visual impairments caused by cataracts, trachoma, glaucoma, and other conditions.
"The situation is more serious than we had imagined," said Zheng Hong, chief physician from the ophthalmology department of Sanming No. 1 Hospital, Fujian. A month earlier, she and four colleagues had traveled over 10,000 km to reach this West African country.
"We initially planned to perform about 10 operations a day," Zheng said. "But faced with so many longing eyes, we all agreed to extend our working hours and now perform over 20 surgeries daily."
In the early hours of last Friday, the hospital corridors were jam-packed with patients from across the country. Local volunteers efficiently handled registrations and screenings.
"A friend from my village told me the Chinese doctors here are very skilled and capable of fixing our vision problems," said Saliou Diouf, 52, who had driven from a nearby rural area. He had lived with blurry vision for years, unable to access surgical treatment.
"We conduct thorough screenings for every patient," explained Zhang Caihua, chief physician from the ophthalmology department of Sanming No. 2 Hospital, Fujian. "Once cataracts are diagnosed, we customize intraocular lenses to suit each individual's eye condition."
In the screening room, Zhang, assisted by local doctors, used a keratometer and A/B-scan ophthalmologic ultrasound to collect patient data. "The patients are very cooperative during screening and surgery," she said while reviewing the day's registry. "When the bandages come off, some patients dance, others cry. That joy transcends all language barriers."
As the setting sun cast golden light over the Fatick hospital, a new group of patients received appointments for the next day's procedures. As the Chinese doctors boarded their minibus to return to their lodging, words of gratitude in Wolof, French, and Chinese echoed across the West African savannah.
At a closing ceremony held Monday in Dakar, Senegal's capital, to mark the end of the Fatick leg of the project and sign a renewed cooperation agreement, Leung Chun-ying, president of the GX Foundation, shared the project's progress.
Since its launch in October 2023, the initiative has dispatched seven specialized ophthalmology teams who have screened the eyes of more than 5,800 patients aged between 17 and 103, and conducted over 3,600 free cataract surgeries.
"For more than a year, we have shared Chinese medical expertise with the people of Senegal. In return, they have given us touching stories. Whether it's patients who have been blind for 30 years or centenarians, the joy of regaining sight deeply symbolizes Sino-Senegalese friendship," said Leung.
He added that after completing the mission in Fatick, the Foundation would continue its free operations in N'dioum in the Saint-Louis Region, northwestern Senegal.
At the ceremony, Li Yan, minister counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Senegal, affirmed China's commitment to deepening humanitarian medical assistance to Senegal, delivering real and tangible benefits to the Senegalese people.
Zhang Caihua (R), chief physician from the ophthalmology department of Sanming No. 2 Hospital, China's Fujian Province, receives a patient at the Regional Hospital Center of Fatick in Fatick, Senegal, May 2, 2025. (Xinhua/Si Yuan)
Patients queue up to establish medical records at the Regional Hospital Center of Fatick in Fatick, Senegal, May 2, 2025. (Xinhua/Si Yuan)
Zhang Zhaode (L), a veteran ophthalmologist from China's Fujian Province, performs a vision restoration surgery for a cataract patient at the Regional Hospital Center of Fatick in Fatick, Senegal, May 2, 2025. (Xinhua/Si Yuan)
This photo taken on May 2, 2025 shows a mobile surgical vehicle at the Regional Hospital Center of Fatick in Fatick, Senegal. (Xinhua/Si Yuan)
A patient undergoes a vision examination at the Regional Hospital Center of Fatick in Fatick, Senegal, May 2, 2025. (Xinhua/Si Yuan)
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