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The rate of myopia among Chinese youth ranks first in the world, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) report.
About 70 percent of high school and college students and nearly 40 percent of primary school students are nearsighted, the 2017 report said.
This problem has also become a great concern of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
In August 2018, Xi called for stronger efforts to tackle the problem, since myopia has become more prevalent and hits children at a younger age in China.
“This is a big issue for the future of the country and the nation. It must be given high attention and controlled,” Xi said.
To implement Xi's instructions, eight ministries, including the Ministry of Education and the National Health Commission, immediately issued measures, pledging to reduce the myopia rate of elementary school students to below 38 percent and junior high school students to 60 percent.
Prevention and control of myopia among children and adolescents have also been included in the government’s performance evaluation system.
“The strength of youths is the strength of a country, and such strength concerns virtue, knowledge, the innovative spirit, craftsmanship and physical health and sportsmanship,” Xi said while visiting the competitors of the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province on August 15, 2014.
(Video produced by Yan Yiqiao; Text compiled by Huang Jingjing)
