Seva Partner David Heiden Wins Humanitarian Service Award

Seva staff and volunteers have long recognized the work of Dr. David Heiden, founder and Medical Director of Seva's AIDS Eye Initiative, as the epitome of selfless service. The American Academy of Ophthalmology recently agreed with this assessment by awarding Dr. Heiden its 2018 Outstanding Humanitarian Service Award, which recognizes ophthalmologists who have made exemplary humanitarian contributions in their field.

Dr. Heiden received this award in recognition of his work to bring state-of-the-art blindness prevention techniques to HIV/AIDS patients in politically unstable and poverty-stricken environments across the globe. He pioneered the practice of training primary care providers for AIDS patients how to use eye exams to diagnose and treat Cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis, a disease that can increase AIDS-related mortality and lead to sudden, irreversible blindness if left untreated.

Because of his work, Seva successfully launched a systematic effort to prevent avoidable blindness as a complication from AIDS in developing countries, including in China, India, Myanmar, Russia, and Ukraine.

"Receiving this award is certainly a wonderful thing, but having the opportunity to do work that I love is the real prize," said Dr. Heiden. "That's a prize that Seva has already given me many times over. In addition to the funding, the professional connections, and the myriad crucial tasks Seva has provided for this project, the enthusiasm and interest that's in the air at Seva always fills my head with new ideas and always motivates me."

Congratulations, Dr. Heiden, on this much-deserved recognition!