Free health checkups for the blind in Beijing

"The moment I walked into the checkup center, a friendly nurse immediately came over to guide me through the tests," said Li Yunshuang, a visually impaired woman, after completing her health checkup last Saturday in Beijing. "This is something I never dared to hope for before."

A launch ceremony for the "Assisting Blind People with Health Checkups" initiative took place in Beijing last Saturday, a joint effort by the China Association of Persons with Visual Disabilities, Ciming Health Checkup Management Croup Co Ltd, a leading Chinese healthcare company and other commonweal organizations including Alibaba Foundation and Alibaba Health.

The initiative will offer free health checkups to 500 blind individuals across 10 provinces in China. In addition, discounted health checkup packages will be available to certified individuals with visual impairments nationwide, through partnerships with local medical centers.

Li Qingzhong, the chairperson of the China Association of the Blind, said that over 17 million people in China live with visual disabilities as of 2023, emphasizing the importance of addressing their healthcare needs.

Li Yunshuang and other blind participants finished their checkups at the Ciming checkup center without any barrier, assisted by nurses and volunteers. "Previous checkups were organized by local communities, but no one would accompany us. Finding all the departments in the hospital was a real challenge," Li shared.

The vice chairperson of the Board of Executive Directors of the China Disabled Persons' Federation, Zhong Xiuming stressed that providing free and discounted checkups would help blind people focus better on their healthy situations, enabling early treatment and improving their quality of life. He also called on more businesses and social organizations to participate in supporting the disabled.

Lu Tianyue contributed to this story.