Officials say China has made huge strides in promoting eye health among children and adolescents. Integrated approaches that combine Traditional Chinese Medicine, or TCM, with Western medicine have become popular in recent years to tackle myopia, commonly known as near-sightedness. The National Health Administration has thrown its support behind the approach nationwide. Bi Ran reports.

The China National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, in partnership with the National Health Commission, has been leading pilot projects using TCM techniques for myopia prevention in children and adolescents since 2022.

Recent evaluations have shown promising results. Techniques such as auricular acupressure have been widely adopted across various pilot counties and districts, proving both effective and widely applicable.

KANG ZEFENG Professor Eye Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences "To date, our health records have been established for over 254,000 children, with nearly 180,000 screenings conducted and around 90,000 actual interventions performed. The use of auricular acupressure has exceeded 1.1 million instances, indicating significant progress in those pilot programs."

At a conference for integrating Chinese and Western medicine to treat and prevent myopia among children and teenagers, experts stressed the need for robust policies targeting eye health while improving public awareness about the issue.

BI RAN Beijing "The conference announced the start of the formulation of a national standard termed as 'General Technical Specifications for Traditional Chinese Medicine for Eye Health.' This will be the first national standard in this field to enhance the overall public awareness of eye health."

KANG ZEFENG Professor Eye Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences "The standard is expected to significantly enhance the service capacity and level of traditional Chinese eye health techniques. We will rigorously adhere to the compilation process for national standards, incorporating modern scientific methods and broad industry input, while respecting the theories of traditional Chinese medicine."

New guidelines have also been introduced at the conference. Extensive efforts are being made to meet the targets of China's comprehensive plan to prevent and treat the condition. Announced in 2018, the goal is to reduce the myopia rate among six-year-olds to around three percent by 2030. Bi Ran, CGTN, Beijing.