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

What We Do

The Armenian EyeCare Project’s mission is to eliminate preventable blindness in Armenia and to make quality eye care accessible to everyone in the country. To complete our mission, we deliver care through a five-point strategy — direct patient care, medical education and training, public education, research, and capacity building.

Patient Care Programs

We have developed several programs in Armenia that work! Each helps to prevent blindness and offer quality care.

Learn More

Medical Education & Training

Medical education is the foundation of our strategy and has a huge impact on the quality of care in Armenia.

Learn More

Public Education

Through education efforts, we inform Armenians about the importance of eye care and steps to take for healthy vision.

Learn More

Research

Research programs in Armenia enable us to learn more about eye disease, prevention and treatment in Armenia.

Learn More

Capacity Building

Our ultimate goal is to develop an eye care system that enables Armenia’s physicians to independently deliver care.

Learn More

Arthur, Gagik & Zonik

Social Exclusion as a result of tragic land mine explosions, the lives of three boys from three different communities across Nagorno-Karabakh changed dramatically in 1993. Seconds before all three explosions the children were playing peacefully-exploring the new deadly “toys” found on the streets of their villages-hand grenades, detonators, land mines and pallet bombs.

Learn More

Approximately 16% or 20.5 million Americans 40 years and older have cataracts.

Learn More

Myth: Benjamin Franklin invented bifocals.

Fact: The English optician Samuel Pierce invented bifocals around 1775.

Myth: Children will outgrow lazy or crossed eyes.

Fact: Children are not able to outgrow strabismus – the medical term for crossed eyes – on their own but, with help, it can be easily corrected at a younger age. That's why it is important for your child to have an eye exam early, first when your child is an infant and then again by age two.

Myth: Reading too much fine print or in poor light will eventually harm your vision.

Fact: "It's like saying if you take a picture in poor light, then the camera is going to be damaged," said Rosen, who worked as a photographer before he went to medical school and became an ophthalmologist.

Eye Safety in Sports

Lots of people – at all ages – are injured while playing sports – but getting hurt doesn’t have
to happen. A few sports injury prevention steps can help to keep everyone in the game. All eye protection should fit securely and have cushions above your eyebrows and over your nose. Face masks or polycarbonate guards or shields that attach to a helmet are worn in sports such as football, ice hockey, and softball and baseball when batting. Goggles are often worn for soccer, basketball, racquet sports, snowboarding, street hockey, and baseball and softball when fielding. If you wear glasses, you’ll probably need prescription polycarbonate goggles — don’t just wear your regular glasses when you’re on the court or field.

Learn More

31% of people in the U.S. need vision correction due to presbyopia or age related "farsightedness."

Learn More

Anatomy of the Eye

Armenia Quick Facts

Cataracts

USAID Visits Mobile Eye Hospital

The purpose of the visit was to view the activities of “The Primary and Ophthalmological Health Care Alliance,” a joint USAID-AECP effort designed to increase the utilization of sustainable, high-quality primary healthcare services in Armenia and ultimately, to eliminate preventable blindness in Armenia.
Proud to be singled out as a success story of USAID/ AECP cooperation, the EyeCare Project had the opportunity to demonstrate a U.S. Government assistance project in operation. Its state-of-the-art mobile eye hospital provides eye care to Armenians throughout the country with all Armenians, regardless of their financial situation, receive eye screenings at no charge.

Learn More

WHERE WE WORK