Health Programs

Guinea Worm Eradication Program
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Carter Center Photo:  Monique Petrofsky

Beninese women hold up the household filters that they use to strain water infected with the Guinea worm parasite. Using simple preventative measures such as filtering water, preventing people with an emerging Guinea worm from entering sources of drinking water, constructing boreholes or deep wells, and treating water with a mild larvicide, Benin stopped transmission of the disease in March of 2004.
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Stopping Guinea Worm Transmission:  Benin

Benin was one of four countries recognized Nov. 15, 2006, during a special ceremony at The Carter Center for stopping Guinea worm transmission for a 12-month period.  Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter presented awards to  Benin, Central African Republic, Mauritania, and Uganda.


Benin Guinea Worm Eradication Program Overview

Assisted by The Carter Center, UNICEF, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization, Benin's Guinea Worm Eradication Program conducted a nationwide village by village search for cases of Guinea worm disease in 1990, reporting 37,414 cases from 3,762 villages. 

Interventions against transmission of Guinea worm eradication began to be implemented in all known endemic villages during 1993. The Guinea worm eradication program stopped transmission in the last known endemic village in March 2004.

 

Highlights from the Benin Guinea Worm Eradication Program

Female Beninese Volunteers Help Stamp Out Guinea Worm

Until recently, tens of thousands of people in the rural areas of Benin, suffered from a horrific parasitic infection called Guinea worm disease, an ancient water-born parasitic infection transmitted through drinking contaminated water. The affliction can be avoided entirely through the use of simple intervention methods such as health education and the use of cloth filters.

In 1993, the Benin Guinea Worm Eradication Program with assistance from The Carter Center, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization established interventions against Guinea worm disease in all endemic areas. This effort is part of a larger movement to make Guinea worm the next infectious disease eradicated from the world—having been endemic in 20 countries only two decades ago—and the first to be overcome without a vaccine or treatment.

Benin's Guinea worm eradication program stopped disease transmission in the last known endemic village in March of 2004. This accomplishment is due largely to the commitment and dedication of a legion of village volunteers (including many women volunteers), who were trained, supplied, and supervised by the GWEP to conduct surveillance, prevention, and education activities.

One female volunteer in Tchetti, Benin, went so far as to report a case via the local radio station when a negligent village volunteer refused to do so because he did not want to be embarrassed. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of the Ministry of Health, The Carter Center, and volunteers like the woman in Tchetti, Benin is free forever from the "fiery serpent." 


Highlights on the campaign to eradicate Guinea worm in Benin and beyond:

  • The Benin Ministry of Health established the National Guinea Worm Eradication Program in 1993, with assistance from The Carter Center, UNICEF, CDC, and the World Health Organization.
  • Guinea worm is a parasitic infection transmitted through stagnant drinking water so old it has been mentioned in ancient Egyptian medical texts.
  • It is a very painful and debilitating disease endemic to the poorest and most forgotten communities of the world.
  • Guinea worm disease transmission has been stopped in 11 of the 20 endemic countries since the campaign began in 1986.
  • In 1993, when the Guinea worm eradication program intervened in all known endemic villages, 16,334 cases of the disease were reported.
  • A turning point for the program came when Dr. Aristide Paraiso was appointed the national Guinea worm eradication program coordinator. Under Dr. Paraiso's leadership, the program successfully implemented the case containment center strategy, which boosted surveillance efforts and helped to stop re-contamination of water sources.
  • Program efforts have reduced the incidence of this crippling disease to zero indigenous cases reported in 2005.
  • With no vaccine or medicine for the affliction, Guinea worm will be the first disease eradicated solely through the use of health education and prevention methods such as the use of cloth water filters.
  • Success has been due in large part to the efforts of village volunteers, particularly women and mothers because women are responsible for collecting water for household use in these areas. They have been vital allies in reporting and containing new cases.
  • One female volunteer in Tchetti, Benin went so far as to report a case via the local radio station when a negligent village volunteer refused to do so because he did not want to be embarrassed. Her intervention allowed the eradication program to take action immediately to contain the outbreak.
  • Through these efforts and the commitment of the Benin Ministry of Health the suffering caused by this debilitating disease has been averted.
  • Families, communities, and even Benin's national economy will benefit from more people returning to work and more children able to attend school.

The Carter Center is a not-for-profit organization founded by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, and works to wage peace, fight disease, and build hope around the world.