LOW VISION CLINIC HELPS ARMENIANS WITH SIGHT PROBLEMS SEE BETTER

State Department Documents and Publications, USA
SECTION: NEWS FROM THE WASHINGTON FILE
May 15, 2007

Partnership for a Better Life

"With the recent increase in the number of people with vision problems,
the Low Vision Clinic will play a significant role for the Armenian
population," said Alex Malayan, chief ophthalmologist of Armenia,
at the clinic’s opening ceremony in a suburb of Armenia’s capital
city, Yerevan.

The clinic, a collaboration of the U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID), the Armenian EyeCare Project (AECP) and the
Armenian Ministry of Health, is aimed at assisting thousands of people
suffering from sight problems. Poor vision is a major public health
and social issue in Armenia.

Unique not only in Armenia but also in the entire Caucasus region,
the Low Vision Clinic is equipped to provide children and adults
afflicted with poor vision with an opportunity to learn life skills
and to receive vital treatment. The services offered at the clinic
are designed to maximize patients’ existing vision and to help improve
their quality of life.

Clinic patients are provided with specially designed devices, including
high-powered eyeglasses for reading, microscopes, hand magnifiers and
other equipment. In addition to teaching people living with low vision
how to use these optical devices, the clinic will help patients acquire
new life skills that will enable them to accomplish daily tasks.

At the opening of the Low Vision Clinic, young artists representing
a number of art schools throughout Armenia exhibited their works.

Eleven-year-old Tigran Ghazaryan, first prize winner in his age
group, donated his artwork to the clinic. "I wish to help people with
vision problems, and one way I can do that is through my pictures,"
Ghazaryan said.

By providing high-quality eye care services and drawing public
attention to eye care issues and blindness prevention, USAID is making
a tangible difference in lives throughout Armenia.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs,
U.S. Department of State.)