A total of 1,000 cataract sufferers from northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region will soon benefit from free medical treatment, including eye surgery aimed at recuperating eyesight.
The service will be provided by a mobile hospital situated inside of two trains. The hospital, called "Health Express", has arrived in Kashi City, said local sources.
According to the sources, the lucky cataract patients are from Kashi City and Aksu Prefecture in Xinjiang, and the mobile hospital will remain in these two towns until November 16.
There are about 30,000 cataract patients living in this remote northwest Chinese region of Xinjiang.
"Health Express", initiated by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government, was built by a Hong Kongorganization from donations from Hong Kong residents.
In addition to providing cataract patients from China's outlying poverty-ridden regions with surgery to recover eyesight, the mobile hospital will also carry out health education, academicexchanges, and training of local medical workers.
It is this mobile hospital's first trip to Xinjiang. Thus far, the hospital has performed eyesight recovery operations on 18,000 cataract patients from 24 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in the country.
(Xinhua News Agency August 30, 2002)
