37,800 PEOPLE SCREENED WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE ARMENIAN EYECARE PROJECT

armradio.am
17.12.2008 17:05

The Armenian EyeCare Project (AECP) completed its 2008 mission
providing eye care services to the population of two districts in
Yerevan (Ajapnyak and Arabkir) and four regions in Armenia (Armavir,
Vayots Dzor, Syunik and Ararat). The activities were carried out
within the framework of the Primary and Ophthalmologic Health Care
Alliance with USAID. As a separate project, the AECP also visited
Nagorno Karabagh to provide eye care services.

A total 37,800 people were screened, including 23,400 children;
more than 6,000 eyeglasses were distributed; 1,086 people received
surgical or laser treatment on the Mobile Eye Hospital. In addition,
the AECP conducted eye screenings in prisons in Yerevan, Kosh and Sevan
in cooperation with the Armenian International Ophthalmic Association.

Nearly fifty ophthalmologists from Yerevan and regional polyclinics
of Armenia participated in an ophthalmology vocational training. The
training was initiated by the AECP jointly with the Academy for
Educational Development and Malayan Ophthalmologic Centre. The project
was carried out within the framework of the USAID funded Human and
Institutional Capacity Development project.

Along with the screenings, the AECP conducted public education
sessions for school-children, teachers, parents, and nurses at the
schools of the Ajapnyak and Arabkir communities, as well as Ar mavir
and Vayots Dzdor regions. The AECP organized sessions on eye care and
safety also with the students of Gevorgian Seminary in Etchmiadzin
and Yerevan State Pedagogical University. Overall more than 4,600
children and 530 adults participated in the eye care and safety
training sessions. More than 41,000 handouts were distributed during
the meetings and eye screenings.

To alert the public about vision problems, the AECP announced a
monthly celebration of the World Sight day. The celebrations started
on September 9, with a charitable exhibition of Seda Bekaryan’s art
works. In addition, AECP organized a briefing for the media, where they
received information about the current situation in eye care in Armenia
and the research results of screenings that the AECP conducted from
2003 to 2007. On World Sight Day (October 9), the AECP medical teams
conducted eye screening of about 100 beneficiaries of the "Armenian
Union of People with Disabilities" in Arabkir district of Yerevan.

The AECP 2009 mission envisages screenings in a selected district
in Yerevan during winter. Starting from spring of 2009, the AECP
will conduct medical outreach in the regions of Kotayk, Tavush,
Lori and Shirak.