Bangkok: Muang Thai Life Assurance Public Company Limited, in collaboration with the Muang Thai Yim Foundation, is continuing its 9th year of the "Saeng Kaew" project, which provides cataract surgery to underprivileged elderly people, restoring the brightness of their eyes and regaining hope, encouragement, and dignity in life.
According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Sara Lamsam, Chief Executive Officer of Muang Thai Life Assurance Public Company Limited, stated that the Saeng Kaew Project was initiated to alleviate the problem of cataracts, the most common eye disease among the elderly and the leading cause of vision loss in Thailand. Each year, a large number of new patients are diagnosed, and many patients await surgery due to personnel limitations and hospitals in remote areas. These problems put a significant number of elderly at risk of permanent blindness, impacting their lives, mental health, and burdening their families and society. Therefore, the goal is to restore the value of life to the elderly, giving them the opportunity to regain hope, encouragement, and dignity in life.
The Saeng Kaew Project provides cataract surgery for underprivileged elderly people. The project, in collaboration with Ban Phaeo Eye Hospital, has been providing mobile cataract surgery since 2017 to patients with severe conditions ranging from low vision to blindness. Over the past nine years, the project has provided a total budget of over 8.1 million baht for over 810 surgeries nationwide, restoring vision, reducing limitations, and enhancing the quality of life for Thailand's aging society.
In 2025, proactive screening, through mobile eye health screening units, will be expanded to three Elderly Welfare Development Centers under the Department of Older Persons, Ministry of Social Development and Human Security: the Wasana Wesm Center in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province, the Elderly Welfare Development Center in Buriram Province, and the Elderly Welfare Development Center in Lampang Province. This initiative aims to provide access to treatment for elderly residents by deploying ophthalmologists and staff to conduct eye examinations for all residents. These screenings will allow cataract patients to undergo surgery to restore their vision and reduce the risk of blindness.