Chinese Doctors Restore Vision for Over 300 Patients in Uzbekistan's Urgench

The international humanitarian initiative “Journey of Light”, featuring a joint medical mission of Chinese and Uzbek ophthalmologists, has concluded in Urgench with remarkable success.

Over the course of eight days, the teams performed 318 cataract surgeries using the phacoemulsification (PHACO) method to restore vision to patients in urgent need, The Caspian Post informs via Uzbek media.

Organized by China’s Center for International Exchanges and Cooperation under the National Health Commission and supported by specialists from Peking University People’s Hospital, the project marks the first major action under commitments made by President Xi Jinping at the “SCO Plus” summit in Tianjin on September 1. Under that agreement, China pledges to perform 5,000 cataract operations for citizens of Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states.

The medical teams handled up to 62 surgeries per day, among them a complex double operation on a patient from Samarkand suffering from both congenital microphthalmia and glaucoma. In addition to Urgench residents, 22 patients from the Republic of Karakalpakstan also traveled to receive treatment.

Beyond its public health benefits, the “Journey of Light” project underscores a growing strategic partnership between China and Uzbekistan and serves as a key milestone in advancing the “Healthy Silk Road” concept - promoting health cooperation, capacity building, and shared humanitarian values across the region.