Chinese Ophthalmologists Provide Assistance To African Peers

- Academic and cultural exchange through the Belt and Road Initiative training course for African ophthalmologists

SHENYANG, China, Aug. 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hosted by the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China and co-organized by Shenyang Normal University and He Eye Hospital Group, the one-month training course for ophthalmologists from Belt and Road countries was officially launched in August.

Ophthalmologists, optometrists, and nurses from six countries, including Kenya, Zambia, Nigeria, South Africa, Malawi, and Botswana, attended the training.

During the training period, the organizers have been conducting online lectures, seminars, and remote observation of surgeries for the participants on topics encompassing global blindness, trends and prospects in ophthalmology, blindness prevention and treatment models with Chinese characteristics, new progress in blindness prevention, theories in subspecialties of ophthalmology, and cataract surgery operation.

This training also offers a unique cultural exchange program – "China on the Cloud – A Virtual Tour." Participants can experience the charm of virtual reality technology and visual art through six virtual tours, which take them through the different cultures, history, and natural landscapes of five cities in China, namely Shenyang, Dalian, Beijing, Chongqing, and Shanghai in turn.

In the first cloud tour class, He Wei, Chairman of He Eye Hospital Group and doctoral supervisor, and Liesse Gateka, an international student from Burundi, led the participants on a virtual tour of the Shenyang Imperial Palace to enjoy the visual charm of ancient architecture.

The Belt and Road Ophthalmologist Training Program is a foreign aid training program sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce, which aims to provide young ophthalmologists from participating countries in the Belt and Road Initiative with advanced training in ophthalmic diagnostic reasoning, treatment concepts, and surgical techniques to improve their professional skills and to fill the shortage in local demand for ophthalmologists. Implementing this project is of positive significance to improve the eye health of the people in countries along the Belt and Road Initiative and to strengthen the in-depth exchange and cooperation between China and these countries in the field of eye health.

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