This year's "Sight First Program" started Tuesday in east China's Zhejiang Province, with medical teams being sent to three island counties to give one-month's treatment to cataract patients.

The team is part of a "Sight First China Action" program launched in 1997 by the Ministry of Health, the Chinese Disabled Persons Federation, and Lions Club International.

The team comprises 20 medical experts, and will carry out operations to help 770 fishing folk suffering from cataracts in the poverty-stricken counties to regain their eyesight.
According to local sources, some 86,363 people have regained their eyesight since the program was first implemented in the province in 1997.

The program will help another 500 or so people suffering from cataracts to regain their eyesight this year.

"Sight First China Action" has helped 1.12 million cataract patients regain their eyesight across China since it was launched four years ago.

There are a total of 270,000 people with severe sight problems in Zhejiang, mostly living in rural, mountainous or island areas.