The smiling little boy in the photo is Ara. He is just 1.5 years old. At the beginning of April, he was taken to the intensive care unit in critical condition. Doctors diagnosed him with pancytopenia, neutropenia, anemia, bilateral pneumonia, and acute respiratory failure.

For nearly a month, Ara continued to have a high fever and bacterial infections, while his test results showed pancytopenia — a dangerous decrease in all major blood cell counts.

Further examinations confirmed that Ara has visceral leishmaniasis, a serious disease that can become life-threatening without timely treatment. According to the World Health Organization, if left untreated, visceral leishmaniasis can be fatal in more than 95 percent of cases.

Ara now urgently needs AmBisome (liposomal amphotericin B), one of the main approved treatments for visceral leishmaniasis.

The cost of the medication Ara needs is 250,000 AMD, a sum his family cannot afford on their own.

Ara loves playing with a ball, looking through picture books, copying animal sounds, and going for walks.

Let us come together to help Ara receive the treatment that can save his life and give him the chance to smile again with the carefree smile of a child.