Free eyecare services provided to Tboung Khmum residents in Cambodia
Source：KHMER TIMES
From：金邊辦事處
Update Time：2025/02/07
The National Eye Health Programme, in collaboration with the Tboung Khmum Provincial Health Department and supported by the Fred Hollows Foundation, is offering free eye examinations, treatment and surgery for local residents.
The initiative, led by Ek Kheang, head of Tboung Khmum Cambodia-China Friendship Hospital, alongside a team of specialised ophthalmologists, is being held from February 3 to 7, 2025, at the Tboung Khmum city hospital.
Kheang noted that this humanitarian initiative aims to provide essential eyecare services to the people of Tboung Khmum province, regardless of their background, ethnicity or religion. The services include eye examinations, treatments, cataract surgery, and distribution of free eyeglasses.
“This is not the first time that our hospital, in partnership with the National Eye Health Programme and various development organisations, has organised such an event. We have been providing free eyecare for several years, benefitting thousands of patients,” he said.
He highlighted the significance of the programme, particularly for elderly residents who commonly suffer from cataracts. Without timely surgical intervention or lens implants, many could face severe vision impairment or even blindness. “By restoring their sight through surgery and lens implantation, we are giving them the opportunity to see the world clearly again and improve their quality of life,” he added.
Kheang urged residents of Tboung Khmum province experiencing eye problems to take advantage of the free services offered at the Cambodia-China Friendship Hospital.
Cambodia has a blindness rate of 1.2% of the population, equivalent to around 144,000 people.
The Ministry of Health in 2023 announced an updated roadmap for the management of blindness and its prevention. The plan aims to reduce blindness among the population to 0.35% from the present rate of 1.2% by 2030.
The Ministry’s five-year achievement report for 2017 to 2021 noted that more than 200,000 eye consultations and screenings nationwide were conducted at public health facilities and private clinics. In the same period, there were more than 28,000 cases of eye surgery.