Join our
AECP
Mailing List

Sign Up!

Pledge a
Monthly Gift
to AECP

Donate

Volunteer for Medical Missions

Learn More

Convert Your
Dollars to
Sight

Shop

Share
our Site

Adopt
a
Village

Learn More

Eye Disease

Arshaluis’s Story

Arshaluis Nerkarayan was just one month old when his parents, Gayaneh Matevosyan and Arthur Nerkararyan, were told that he had a congenital cataract in both eyes and could not see. Gayaneh and Arthur immediately decided that they would do everything in their power to help their son lead a normal life.

Learn More

Globally the major causes of visual impairment are:

Uncorrected refractive errors - 43%, unoperated cataract - 33%, glaucoma - 2%.

Learn More

Lilit Mkrtchyan, M.D.

Born into a family of physicians, Mkrtchyan describes herself as a hereditary doctor. Her father, Gevorg, is an abdominal surgeon, mother, Ivetta, is an ophthalmologist, and older sister, Nune, is a pediatrician.

“I grew up in an atmosphere of concern for patients, discussing treatment and medical issues [with my family],” she says. “My decision to become a doctor, I think, was a logical and emotional outcome of these circumstances.”

Learn More

61% of people in the U.S. need eyewear due to Myopia or "nearsightedness."

Learn More

Cataracts

As the population begins to age and life expectancy increases, it is imperative that Armenia address cataract surgical coverage. Today, approximately 91,000 Armenians — or 30 percent of the population — aged 65 and over have cataracts in one or both eyes, causing partial or complete blindness. By 2050, that number will more than double – leading to roughly 221,200 Armenians affected. Because cataract surgery is so limited in Armenia – just 24 percent coverage – most people (the remaining 76 percent) go without care, leaving thousands visually disabled. In the United States people accept cataract surgery as a part of aging and is a very common procedure. Sadly, in Armenia, many people accept blindness as a part of growing older because they have no access to cataract surgery.

Learn More