A Chinese company received a 2012 South-South Award for offering financial aid to underprivileged Chinese and African cataract patients who needed eye surgery in the past eight years.

Volunteers from Hainan Airlines visit cataract patients at a hospital in Zimbabwe in March 2011. Thanks to a charitable program co-launched by HNA Group, the parent company of the airline, more than 1,400 people in Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique have undergone eye surgery and had their sight restored since 2010. HUANG YIMING / CHINA DAILY

The HNA Group, the parent company of Hainan Airlines, was presented the award in New York City on Sept 23 for its Brightness Action, a 10-year charitable program the company launched with Beijing Tongren Hospital in July 2004 to tackle avoidable blindness.

So far, more than 3,000 cataract patients from Qinghai and Gansu provinces and the Tibet, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous regions have received operations to regain their sight.

Chen Feng, HNA Group chairman

The charitable program went beyond China's borders in 2010, and has restored the sights of more than 1,400 people in Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique.

"While pursuing development, we've always been trying to give back to society and take on social responsibilities," said Chen Feng, HNA Group chairman, at the awards ceremony.

Since its establishment in 1993, HNA has expanded its business and diversified in aviation, tourism, logistics and financial services.

"The group has made $115 million worth of charity donations to programs like Brightness Action, Wings of HNA-Caring for Children Summer Camp, Hainan-New Year Festival, and HNA Hainan Island Scholarship," Chen added.

In China, many businesses honor corporate social responsibility and are dedicated to charities in different fields and varied forms. The South-South Awards are motivation for HNA to do even better, Chen said in Haikou on Wednesday.

The 2012 South-South Awards, originated by UN-affiliated digital media platform South-South News, was co-organized by the International Telecommunication Union and the UN World Tourism Organization, among other groups.

Contact writers at liyao@chinadaily.com.cn and huangyiming@chinadaily.com.cn