Armenian Eyecare Project

The AECP has been relentlessly pursuing its mission to eliminate preventable blindness and provide access to eye care for all Armenians since 1992. Guided by its vision for Armenia to become a country where no individual lives without access to quality eye care, where Armenian ophthalmologists are trained to diagnose and treat eye disease at the highest level and where preventable causes of blindness are eliminated through prevention and early intervention, the Armenian EyeCare Project has truly changed the landscape of eye care in Armenia. With vast accomplishments over the years, the Armenian EyeCare Project has enabled the country to transition from a Soviet system of centralized health care to a Western framework with new funding and delivery systems to ensure highest quality eye care for all.

In 2015, the Armenian EyeCare Project launched one of its most ambitious initiatives in the history of the organization — the development of five full-service eye clinics throughout Armenia to increase access to eye care at no cost for the country’s most vulnerable population living in remote regions of the country. The locations were selected based on the greatest need — Ijevan in the Tavush province; Spitak in the Lori province; Kapan in the Syunik province; Gyumri in the Shirak province and Yeghegnadzor in the Vayots Dzor province. Over the past four years, four clinics have been fully developed, equipped and staffed, providing detailed screening services to 9,181 patients in these regions, performing 2,597 surgeries and 220 laser treatments, and offering comprehensive eye care to residents of the Tavush, Lori, Syunik, Shirak and Vayots Dzor regions.

The Armenian EyeCare Project initiated a comprehensive, integrated five-point program to eliminate preventable blindness and make leading-edge eye care available to adults and children in Armenia, focusing on the poor and those living in remote regions of the country:

1. Medical education and training. Services developed and delivered include a U.S. fellowship program, telesurgery, observerships, online training programs, medical missions, seminars and annual international conferences attended by over 500 people this year, including doctors from the U.S. and Central Asia.

2. Direct patient care. The Mobile Eye Hospital, a 14-ton eye clinic on wheels that tours the country twice a year offering free eye care in the most remote areas, has provided eye screenings and surgeries to 435,380 people throughout the country since 2002.
Other direct services provided by the Armenian EyeCare Project include:
- Eyeglass program offering refractions and new eyeglasses at no cost
- Center of Excellence for the Prevention of Childhood Blindness offering Retinopathy of Prematurity screenings to newborns
- Corneal transplants funded by U.S. donors
- Eye prostheses program for children and adults
- Diabetic eye disease prevention program that screens and photographs the retinas of diabetics country-wide
- School eye screening program for children

3. Public education. The Armenian EyeCare Project offers a series of ongoing public programs on eye care and eye disease at schools and community centers through distribution of 750,000 brochures, public service announcements, commemoration of World Sight Day, and other activities.

4. Research. By incorporating research into the eye care system, the Armenian EyeCare Project tackles disease prevention and develops relevant strategies aimed at improving health. Armenian ophthalmologists participate in clinical trials for U.S. pharmaceutical companies and collaborate with U.S. doctors to monitor and evaluate disease prevalence and population risk factors.

5. Capacity building. Through development of human and physical resources, establishment of medical facilities and $67 million invested in medical equipment and supplies, the Armenian EyeCare Project continues to build a sustainable eye care system.

The AECP Armenia managerial and administrative teams have been in place since its inception (2002) and have a vast experience, knowledge and expertise required to successfully implement its strategies aimed at alleviating preventable blindness in Armenia. With almost 3 decades of dedicated service and more than 60 medical trips made to Armenia at his own expense, Dr. Ohanesian’s contribution and role in revitalizing the national eye care system in Armenia is hard to surpass. Under his leadership, the countrywide ophthalmology program transformed Armenia’s eye care system into a widely recognized success. Dr. Ohanesian was able to engage Armenian doctors and healthcare officials, internationally renowned eye surgeons and major equipment suppliers in his fight against preventable blindness in Armenia. He recruited more than 80 dedicated and talented medical professionals from the U.S. in every sub-specialty – retina, glaucoma, corneal-uveitis, pediatric ophthalmology, neuro-orbital and low vision along with neonatologists and other specialists. Every year since the establishment of the AECP, American ophthalmologists and reconstructive surgeons travel to Armenia twice a year on Medical Missions, at their own expense, to bring hope and eye care to thousands of patients.
The AECP’s Country Director Mrs. Nune Yeghiazaryan holds a Ph.D. in Economics and Management from the Economic Research Institute, Armenia and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Thanks to joint efforts, a team of AECP professionals who are dedicated to providing excellent support in finance, program implementation, monitoring and evaluation, public relations and administration was built and is currently implementing all of the activities in the country.

The ACEP’s efficiency, professionalism and adherence to nonprofit best practices has been recognized by the Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator, which awarded AECP with a 4-star rating for 3 consecutive years.

Since 2003, the Armenian EyeCare Project provided the following services to the population of the most remote towns and villages in Armenia:
- More than 60 US Medical Missions came to Armenia, offering free-of-charge treatment;
- Over 435,000 patients including 183,378 children were screened;
- More than 52,000 detailed examinations, 19,491 surgeries and 7,802 laser treatments were conducted on the Mobile Eye Hospital;
- Nearly 70,000 pairs of eyeglasses were provided to vulnerable population free of charge;
- The Mobile Eye Hospital that houses an operating room and two examination rooms, has made 8 rounds throughout the country providing patients in remote areas of Armenia with the opportunity to see a doctor and restore their eye sight at no charge;
- $67 million in Medical Equipment and supplies was donated to hospitals and clinics in Armenia by American pharmaceutical and medical manufacturing companies and private individuals;
- Center of Excellence for the Prevention of Childhood Blindness was established in 2012, dedicated to the advancement of eye care for infants and children in Armenia and the elimination of preventable blindness caused by Retinopathy of Prematurity and other childhood eye diseases;
- Armenian Eye Bank was established in Yerevan in 2005, following development of legislation that was approved and accepted by the Armenian government;
- Ophthalmology Residence Programs were developed in Armenia to improve teaching methods and to meet Western standards in eye care education;
- Eight Armenian physicians benefited from Ophthalmology Fellowships in the US, followed by establishment of eight Subspecialty Clinics;
- Twelve patients requiring specialized surgical care in the US were provided with services at no charge, which saved their vision and improved the quality of their lives;
- Four Regional Eye Clinics have been established in the regions of Armenia to enhance sustainable access to quality eye care for the rural population;
- A state-of-the-art Medical Education Center was established in Armenia including a library, classrooms and a wet lab to advance education models for students.
- In the first year of its operation, the Armenian EyeCare Project developed a unique Fellowship Program aimed at training top Armenian ophthalmologists at world-renowned U.S medical institutions. After an intensive year of learning with some of the most highly skilled and recognized subspecialists in the country, they returned to Armenia to train their colleagues and direct clinics in their subspecialty.
- Another significant achievements of the AECP is the establishment of the National Screening and Treatment Program on Retinopathy of Prematurity in 2010, which includes a unique virtual examination room allowing for quick mentor feedback. Subsequently, the Center of Excellence for the Prevention of Childhood Blindness was established in 2014 in partnership with the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.