ARMENIA
THE ARMENIAN EYE CARE PROJECT
ARMENIA: THE ARMENIAN EYE CARE PROJECT
Healthy eyes - happy children.
The major impact of the United Nations Women’s Guild’s support
1. When and why was your organization and/or project organized?
What are its mission and objectives? - Established in 1992 by ophthalmologist Roger Ohanesian, MD, the Armenian EyeCare Project (AECP) is dedicated to eliminating preventable blindness in Armenia and ensuring that 21st-century eye care is accessible to every Armenian child and adult. The AECP's Armenia office, established as a legal entity in 2002, has been the exclusive collaborator with the UNWG since 2011.
2. Who and how many children/beneficiaries are served? What activities and services are provided?
The niche that UNWG occupies in AECP programs, is very important and helps make a real difference in the lives of children and vulnerable young people across Armenia. It addresses the critical issue of inadequate eye care, especially in relation to the provision of eye prosthesis, while being neglected by many donors. Thanks to AECP/UNWG cooperation, more than 100 prosthetic eye replacements were carried out, restoring the appearance of numerous children and young adults. Such replacements play an enormous role in children’s health, educational achievements and social inclusion. The other dominant area of activities covers a comprehensive range of ophthalmological services, including diagnostic exams and various treatments, including surgeries, in fight against preventable blindness. Thanks to UNWG cooperation, AECP has conducted general eye screening for more than 1000 children and young adults, provided detailed examinations and further treatment for 414 beneficiaries, delivered over 400 pairs of eyeglasses as prescribed.
3. What type of support do you receive from your government, private sector, families of the participants, or others?
- AECP’s strong collaboration with regional authorities secures logistic and organizational support, while partnerships with charitable organizations help identify children in acute needs for eyecare in the remote parts of Armenia. The Armenian EyeCare Project activities have been acknowledged by government’s decree as humanitarian and are tax exempt. All this helps AECP in its mission to care for underserved children and young adults.
4. What are the limitations in your ability to provide services? - Scarcity of funds and eye prosthesis specialists limit our activities. When helping people, AECP strives to distribute funds wisely to reach all program beneficiaries, even when faced with the challenge of choosing between the provision of expensive examination and tests for multiple children with limited support.
5. What do you use the UNWG donations for? - This year the UNWG's generous contribution has already been put to use by conducting eye screening in the charity center in one of the remote regions of Armenia and helping a child recovered from cancer to obtain necessary high-cost examinations in order to be able to get an eye prosthesis