More people living with diabetes-related eye disease in China will be screened and treated due to a large-scale awareness campaign conducted by The Foundation, in partnership with Aier Eye Hospital Group.

A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine reports that more than 92 million adults are living with diabetes in China. A further 150 million are at risk of contracting the disease.

Over 84,600 people in major cities have now learnt to identify early symptoms of diabetic retinopathy through awareness sessions conducted by The Foundation and its partner.

Retinopathy is damage to the eye's retina, caused by diabetes mellitus. Untreated, this widespread but preventable condition can cause blindness.

Staggeringly, more than 75 per cent of people who have had diabetes for more than 20 years will experience retinopathy.

Education and greater awareness of retinopathy symptoms has been achieved through individual information sessions and small group discussions. The awareness campaign kicked off in 2008.

Positively, nearly all diabetes-related blindness can be prevented, if appropriate treatment is received in time. It is hoped that increased awareness of the symptoms will encourage people to seek medical treatment.

The project is sponsored by the Standard Chartered Bank's ‘Seeing is Believing' initiative.