The China Welfare Fund for the Handicapped plans to perform free cataract operations on 800,000 impoverished blind people by 2010, the foundation's chairman Jiang Shangzhou announced on Tuesday.

"Blindness caused by cataract is curable," Jiang said. "Many impoverished patients miss their opportunity to regain their sight because they can not afford the operation fees."

China estimates about 5.25 million people will need cataract operations between 2006 and 2010 but the government will only be able to perform around three million operations over the five-year period.

"About 800,000 of the remaining two million patients are too poor to afford the operation," said Jiang.

If performing a cataract operation costs 1,000 yuan (about 128 U.S. dollars), a total of 800 million yuan will be needed to help the 800,000 poor people who became blind because of the disease, Jiang said.

The program which is devoted to helping cataract patients was launched by the China Disabled Persons' Federation on June 5, 2006.

Free cataract operations have been performed in villages and towns of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and southwest China's Sichuan Province since the program was launched, said Jiang.