SightFirst China Action

SightFirst China Action was officially launched nationwide in 1999, building on earlier pilot grants. For more than 16 years, Lions have been preventing blindness in the world's most populous country. Completed in 2002, Phase I of LCIF's SightFirst China Action (SFCA) supported 2.1 million cataract surgeries in China and established surgical eye units in 104 rural counties that previously had none.

Phase II of SightFirst China Action continued on the success of the first initiative, preventing blindness on a large scale. A SightFirst grant of US$15.5 million was matched with about US$200 million from the Chinese government. During Phase II, nearly 3 million cataract surgeries were performed, and eye care infrastructure was strengthened by creating secondary eye care units at hospitals in 200 underdeveloped counties, provinces and Tibet. To assure sustainable eye care services for the vast populations of rural poor, training courses for paramedics were conducted in the western and northern provinces.