主持人：Noreen Mir
Focusing on issues affecting civil society, we'll hear from representatives of NGOs, associations, statutory bodies, and non-profit groups.
Good morning, thanks for having this morning. At Orbis, we have a simple belief: protecting vision isn’t just a medical issue; it’s a community responsibility. Every one of us has a part to play in helping others keep sight safe. Today, I’d like to tell you a story - the story of Hong Kong’s aging eyes, and why half of our population may soon face serious vision challenges.
When you think of Hong Kong, what comes to mind? Neon lights, the serene views, the dense forest of skyscrapers. We are a city that sees the world in colour and in movement. But behind that beauty, a silent crisis has been developing among our older population.
In late 2025, Orbis collaborated with the Department of Ophthalmology at HKUMed to release results from the largest community glaucoma-screening project ever done in Hong Kong. The results were a wake-up call, not just for everyone over 50, but for everyone who loves someone over 50.
As we age, our bodies begin to change - gently, and gradually. But within our eyes, something more dangerous starts to happen: the risk of vision-threatening diseases rises sharply after 50.
The three biggest culprits here in Hong Kong are: cataracts, age-related macular degeneration, and glaucoma. Cataracts are like looking through a frosted dirty window. The world turns cloudy and dim. Thankfully, surgery can restore clear sight.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) attacks your central vision. It’s what you use to read, drive, or recognize a loved one’s face. It may not cause total blindness, but it steals your quality of life.
And then, there’s glaucoma, the silent thief of sight. It creeps in slowly, quietly damaging the optic nerve - the delicate cable that connects the eye to the brain. There’s no pain. No early symptoms. You don’t even know it’s happening… until a quarter of your vision is already gone.
Once those nerve fibers die, they’re gone forever. We can’t bring them back. All we can do is stop more from dying, curb it from getting worse, stop one from becoming blind. For years, we suspected glaucoma was widespread in Hong Kong. But we didn’t know how widespread or common it was - until now.
Over two years, Orbis and HKUMed conducted a project we called Vision Matters. We went into public housing estates, from Southern District, Kwun Tong and Taipo etc, inviting residents aged 50 and above for free, comprehensive eye exams. More than 5,800 people across our city took part.
The results were staggering. We found optic-nerve degeneration in 11.6 percent of participants, and confirmed glaucoma in 6.9 percent of them. For context, that’s higher than previous estimates across the entire Chinese population.
So, what’s going on? Is Hong Kong somehow “sicker”? Not necessarily. In truth, the difference lies in the technology. We were only able to identify these occurrences because of the technology we used. Our study used an AI-powered tool called ROTA to identify at-risk patients. Now, a traditional scan can tell you if your optic nerve - imagine a rope - is getting thinner. But ROTA goes deeper. It shows whether the threads within that rope are beginning to fray. This means it can catch glaucoma damage far earlier, often before patients notice a single symptom.
Currently, if referred to a specialist out-patient clinic, the wait time can be as long as 117 weeks. That is over two years. For glaucoma, two years of waiting means two years of irreversible vision damage.
Here’s how AI integration changes a lot of everything. Because when a doctor spots even the smallest hint of trouble, AI can help flag high-risk patients faster, triage them sooner, push them to the front of the list and make sure they see a specialist in time.
It won’t erase the two-year waiting list overnight, but it could save sight before it’s too late.
Our AI-powered diagnostic system will soon be deployed in Hong Kong West and Kowloon East clusters. And that’s what Orbis does best: bridging innovation and humanity. Around the world, our team ensures that innovation travels faster than distance. The fight against blindness is no longer just about scalpels and predictions. It’s about data and predictions. It’s about catching the thief before it steals your sight.
Through Cybersight AI, a groundbreaking Orbis diagnostic platform, specialist-level eye screening can be “air-dropped” into even the most remote villages. Imagine this: a local nurse in a rural community takes a photo of a patient’s retina. Within seconds, the AI detects early signs of blinding diseases and alerts doctors miles away. That speed and that precision can be the difference between permanent vision loss and a lifetime of sight.
But here’s the truth: technology alone isn’t the hero.
People are. AI is just a tool - one that amplifies the reach of doctors and empowers local health workers. It filters out routine cases, so specialists can focus on the most urgent, life-changing ones.
Yet, even the smartest technology can’t succeed without trust. In Ethiopia, for example, Orbis trains local women as community eye-care workers - women their neighbours already know and trust. In Vietnam, we adapt our workflow to match local customs and patient habits, because technology must fit people, not the other way around.
And through every project, from Hong Kong’s urban neighbourhoods to the world’s most remote corners, one message shines through:
Technology guards vision; trust connects communities.
Together, they build a bridge - from innovation to impact, from city to village, from research to real lives. And that bridge is how Orbis makes sure no one, anywhere in the world, is left in the dark.
We live in a city of dazzling lights. Let's make sure we can all see them, clearly and safely, for years to come.
主持人：Noreen Mir
Good morning! I would like to begin with an introduction to our organization. Diabetes Hong Kong is a non-profit making organization founded in 1996 by a group of healthcare professionals, people with diabetes, and advocates dedicated to diabetes education and management. Our mission is to support people with diabetes and their families or carers, to promote public awareness towards diabetes and to strive for optimal care and prevention of this condition.
A disease is important either because it is common or because it has significant impact on people’s health. I would say diabetes is very important because it fulfills both criteria.
So how common is diabetes exactly? International Diabetes Federation estimates that around 590 million, that is, 1 in 9 adults are living with diabetes worldwide in 2024, and by 2050 the number is predicted to rise to 850 million, that is, 1 in 8 adults. Locally, around 1 in 12 persons between 15 and 84 years old have diabetes according to the recent Population Health Survey conducted by the Department of Health. To me the estimation seems a bit conservative, and the prevalence should be at least around 1 in 10. Diabetes becomes more common when people age, and 1 in 5 people aged 65 or above in Hong Kong have diabetes.
What is diabetes notorious for? It is always difficult to catch the bad guy when he is invisible. Indeed, diabetes plays similar tricks on us. Most people affected by diabetes have no symptoms at all. 30-40 percent of people with diabetes have no idea they have this condition. In many cases diabetes may be discovered only when the blood sugar level becomes markedly elevated, or even worse, when the high blood sugar has persisted long enough to cause organ damage. Diabetes loves to attack both large and small blood vessels, especially in the eyes, kidneys, peripheral nerves, heart, brain, and legs. No wonder diabetes is the leading cause of multiple devastating conditions including blindness, kidney failure, heart attack, stroke, and lower limb amputation. People with diabetes also tend to die earlier than the general population. Just imagine the huge impact on diabetes patients and their families, as well as on our society when these dreaded complications develop. Diabetes is seldom a maverick. It usually teams up with hypertension, high cholesterol, obesity, and smoking and they all work together to intensify the widespread damage to our body. Therefore, diabetes is never just a glucose problem. The solution to this systemic disease demands a holistic approach and concerted effort of the whole community.
Prevention is always better than cure. Healthy balanced diet and regular exercise remain the cornerstones of diabetes prevention. It is obviously easier said than done, but it is usually helpful to invite motivated family members and friends to engage in lifestyle modifications together, so that we can support each other to keep ourselves on track. Diabetes usually does not send us a reminder that it is already there, therefore we should search for it proactively. Regular screening for diabetes by simple blood tests is recommended in at-risk individuals, including people aged 45 or above, those with cardiovascular risk factors like prediabetes, hypertension, high lipids, obesity and smoking, cardiovascular disease or family history of diabetes, as well as women with history of diabetes during pregnancy. Whenever we identify at least one of those diabetes’ allies, we should automatically search for diabetes as well.
For those who have already received the diagnosis of diabetes, lifestyle modification remains important but additional treatments are almost invariably needed for optimal control. Sustained satisfactory control of diabetes can prevent various diabetic complications. Please rest assured that nowadays we’ve got effective and safe medications which not only control the blood sugar level, but also help obese patients lose weight and independently protect the cardiovascular system and kidneys. We should not forget that it is equally important to manage body weight, hypertension, high cholesterol level, and for smokers to quit smoking. It is also essential for people with diabetes to undergo regular, preferably annual, screening of diabetic complications, which would enable healthcare professionals to intervene early and prevent progression in case complications occur.
World Diabetes Day or WDD is marked every year on 14 November which was the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting, who co-discovered insulin along with Charles Best in 1922. WDD was created in 1991 by International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organization and became an official United Nations Day in 2006. The campaign focus for this year is “Diabetes and the workplace”. Millions of people with diabetes face daily challenges managing their condition in the workplace, including stigma, discrimination and exclusion. This has a negative impact on their well-being. I believe that diabetes management is more than just tests and pills. People with diabetes, together with their families, friends, colleagues, healthcare professionals, government officials and policy makers, should all work together so that everyone with diabetes has the chance to live well. By sharing a song by Eason Chan “Today”, I sincerely hope that the whole community will join to support people with diabetes. Wish you all a joyful Sunday!
