Founded in 1992, in the United States by an American-Armenian ophthalmologist Roger Ohanesian, M.D., the Armenian EyeCare Project (AECP) is a California based nonprofit corporation dedicated to the elimination of preventable blindness in Armenia. In 2003, the AECP established an office in Yerevan and launched its seven-year initiative, “Bringing Sight to Armenian Eyes.” The Initiative has five comprehensive, integrated components developed to eliminate preventable blindness. They include direct patient care, medical education and training, public education, research and capacity building. The AECP has been a USAID partner since 2004.