12th International Conference on Ophthalmology opens in Armenia’s capital

The 12^th International Conference on Ophthalmology has opened in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, on Friday.

The opening ceremony was attended by Armenian government officials, representatives of the US Embassy in Armenia and USAID.
US Ambassador to Armenia John Heffern and Armenia’s Minister of Health Derenik Dumanyan made welcoming speeches.

Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan’s message to the conference was read out.

This is a truly international congress that has gathered renowned experts in various fields of ophthalmology from different countries. Among the participants are professionals from the United States, Europe, CIS countries, Caucasus, Central Asia and Middle East.
Apart from sub-specialty professional ophthalmologists, this conference is of interest for eyecare managers, health policy designers, neonatologists, NICU nurses, pediatric anesthesiologists and medical school educators.

Day one will be dedicated to the Retinopathy of Prematurity. The Armenian EyeCare Project (AECP), in cooperation with the USAID and the Health Ministry of Armenia, started a nation-wide program “Prevention and Treatment of the Prematurity of Retinopathy (ROP) in Armenia” in 2010.

AECP has the excellent opportunity to establish the first regional center to prevent child blindness. Under a preliminary agreement, the center will start operating in about a year at the neonatal resuscitation department, said Roger Ohanesian, MD, AECP Founder-President.

Day two will highlight the achievements of AECP specialty clinics that exist in the Yerevan eye hospitals, as well as experiences from the mobile eye hospital. In addition, a twenty year retrospective of the AECP will be presented.

Breakout sessions on Diabetic Retinopathy, Glaucoma, Cornea, Uveitus, refractive surgery, neuro-opthalmic and orbital reconstructive surgery will be offered with speeches from various countries on best practices, panel discussions and Question and Answer sessions.