PRESIDENT CARTER HONORS FOUR COUNTRIES

AT A SPECIAL AWARDS CEREMONY HIGHLIGHTING PROGRESS AGAINST GUINEA WORM DISEASE

15 NOV 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Emily Staub 404-420-5126

ATLANTA… Transmission of Guinea worm disease has been stopped in Benin, Central African Republic, Mauritania, and Uganda. Guinea worm, a debilitating disease that causes severe pain and economic hardship and once plagued millions of people in Africa and Asia, today sits on the brink of eradication. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter congratulated the four countries for successfully stopping transmission of the parasitic infection for more than one year at a special awards ceremony and reception on Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2006, at The Carter Center.

“Benin, Central African Republic, Mauritania, and Uganda are symbols of hope in the fight against Guinea worm disease,” said President Carter, Carter Center founder and 2002 Nobel laureate. “The countries’ success in halting the spread of the disease demonstrates a commitment to providing good health and economic progress to those living in isolated and impoverished communities.”

During the final push to wipe the disease off the face of the Earth, the four African countries are the latest to break free from the shackles of Guinea worm disease (dracunculiasis). During the ceremony, President Carter, Dr. Donald R. Hopkins, associate executive director for health programs at The Carter Center, and Dr. Ernesto Ruiz-Tiben, technical director for the Center’s Guinea Worm Eradication Program, presented each country with a hand-carved sculpture inscribed with the year in which the country stopped transmission of the disease: Benin, 2004; Mauritania, 2004; Uganda, 2003; Central African Republic, 2001. The countries join Cameroon, Chad, India, Kenya, Pakistan, Senegal, and Yemen in reaching this major milestone. Only nine endemic countries remain, all in Africa, with several expected to stop transmission by next year.

In 1986, the Carter Center’s Guinea Worm Eradication Program began its work by assisting Pakistan with its efforts to eradicate the disease, and today, it spearheads the global Guinea worm eradication campaign with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, the World Health Organization, national ministries of health, and many other partner organizations. The global campaign to eradicate Guinea worm disease has reduced the number of cases worldwide by more than 99.7 percent: from an estimated 3.5 million in 1986 to 10,674 reported in 2005. Together, Ghana and Sudan now report 99 percent of the world’s remaining cases.

Guinea worm disease is an ancient parasitic infection that affects people living in remote, poverty-stricken communities. The disease is contracted when people consume water contaminated with infective larvae. After a year, the 2- to 3-foot-long worm slowly emerges from the body through an agonizingly painful blister it creates in the skin. Children suffering from the disease cannot attend school because they, and other victims, are incapacitated for an average of two months after a worm has begun to emerge. Communities suffer food shortages when their residents are unable to farm.

Thanks to the dedication, diligence, and effectiveness of national Guinea Worm Eradication Program staff in implementing surveillance, containment, and other interventions against transmission, communities once crippled by the disease are revitalized, children can return to school, and farmers to their fields. Participating in the dramatic improvements in their Guinea worm-free communities, people are becoming empowered and optimistic, recognizing that it is possible to improve their own lives.

Benin’s Guinea Worm Eradication Program stopped disease transmission in its last known endemic village in March of 2004. This accomplishment is due largely to the commitment and dedication of a legion of village volunteers, who were trained, supplied, and supervised by the program to conduct surveillance, prevention, and education activities.

The World Health Organization declared Central African Republic to be endemic for Guinea worm disease in 1996 and announced it had stopped transmission of the disease from its endemic villages in 2001.

Guinea worm disease eradication in Mauritania was challenged by the remoteness of some of its endemic villages and the need to use means of local transport, camels, horses, and donkeys to reach these affected communities so that monthly supervision of training and case reporting could be implemented. Mauritania’s hard work paid off as the country stopped transmission in June 2004.

Guinea worm disease once affected hundred of thousands people a year in more than 2,600 villages in Uganda. The country stopped transmission in July 2003. Once ranked as the third-most endemic country in the world, Uganda’s swift success compared to other countries in eliminating the disease will likely remain unmatched.

The awards to commemorate the national victories over Guinea worm disease were commissioned with the support of Mr. John Moores, chairman of the Carter Center’s board of trustees, and Mrs. Rebecca Moores, both staunch supporters of the eradication campaign.

Two of Nigeria’s Finest Guinea Worm Warriors Are Honored with The Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Award

Once the most Guinea worm-endemic country in the world, Nigeria reached a major milestone when it reported only 15 cases of Guinea worm disease in the first 10 months of 2006 compared to 116 cases during the same time in 2005. The astounding success of the Nigeria program is due to the hard work of village volunteers, Carter Center and Ministry of Health staff, Nigeria’s former Head of State General (Dr.) Yakubu Gowon, and many other partners. Thanks to these efforts it is likely that Nigeria will end transmission in 2006 or early 2007.

President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter presented General Gowon and Dr. Emmanuel Miri, resident technical adviser for the Carter Center’s health programs in Nigeria, with The Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Award for Guinea Worm Eradication for their major roles in Nigeria’s impending victory over Guinea worm disease.

“Nigeria’s progress is a huge step forward in a very important country,” said Dr. Donald Hopkins, associate executive director for health programs at The Carter Center. “As the most populated country in Africa, Nigeria’s amazing progress in the fight against Guinea worm disease sets a challenging pace for the remaining endemic countries to end this painful chapter in human history.”

Since he began working with the Nigerian Guinea worm eradication program in 1999, General Gowon has made 69 visits to 123 endemic villages. Dr. Miri, fondly called “Dr. Water” by many of his countrymen, has overseen the Carter Center’s health programs in Nigeria since 1998.

The special awards were presented during The Carter Center Awards Ceremony for Guinea Worm Eradication held at The Carter Center on Nov. 15, 2006. This is the first time that the award has been presented to a former head of state and the first time the award has been given to one of the Carter Center’s own employees.

The annual Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Award was established by President and Mrs. Carter in 1991 to recognize individuals for their outstanding efforts toward eradicating Guinea worm disease.

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