TCM treatment has been widely used to treat diabetes

A program has been launched to offer free treatment to 100 diabetics from Guangzhou at a top traditional Chinese medicine clinic in Guizhou province.

The patients will stay at Guizhou Bailing Diabetes Hospital of TCM for eight weeks and receive further medical assistance via the internet once they return home, according to organizers.

Launched on Monday, the program is a partnership between the hospital, Guizhou Bailing Group Pharmaceutical Co, Guangdong Hospital of TCM, and Guangzhou Boji Pharmaceutical Association.

The hospital, which is in Guiyang, capital of Guizhou, will be responsible for accommodation and transportation.

The program aims to raise awareness of diabetes, a major killer in China, according to Jiang Wei, chairman of Guizhou Bailing Group Pharmaceutical Co.

"With a diabetic population of more than 120 billion, China has a larger number of diabetics than anywhere else in the world," he said.

He added that more than 1.5 million people in China die of diabetes or complications from the illness every year, while more than 1 million diabetics a year undergo leg amputation.

Ke Zhong, deputy director of Guangdong's top TCM authority, said traditional medicine has proved to be effective in curing diabetes.

Guangdong has about 8 million diabetics, he added.