China to step up myopia monitoring among youngsters

BEIJING — China will step up the monitoring and intervention for myopia among children and teenagers, in a bid to help improve eyesight among Chinese youngsters, according to the National Health Commission.

The mechanism for tracking myopia rate among youngsters and detecting relevant influencing factors shall cover all counties and districts across China by the end of 2025, stated a five-year plan on vision care promotion formulated by the commission, which listed youngsters and senior citizens as key populations susceptible to eye problems.

The prevalence of myopia among Chinese children and teenagers was 52.7 percent in 2020, 0.9 percentage points lower than 2018, official data showed. Though taking a turn for the better in general, the eyesight of Chinese schoolchildren still faces challenges from online learning due to the impact of COVID-19.

The commission also plans to expand the coverage rate of eye care and vision tests to more than 90 percent for children aged six and below by the end of 2025.

The total number of eye doctors in China shall exceed 50,000 by the end of 2025, the document stated.