Carter Center Peace and Health Feature Stories

Read stories of lives changed by the Center's commitment to creating a world in which every man, woman, and child has the opportunity to enjoy good health and live in peace.

Dec. 20, 2010
Miracle Medicine Mends Nigerian Tailor's Eyesight
38-year-old Zaki Baushe holds a thin metal needle in his left hand as he deftly angles a thread through its eye. As a tailor in Akwanga local government area, Nasarawa State, Nigeria, it is an act that he has repeated thousands of times throughout his life. Yet several years ago, Baushe was in danger of losing this skill entirely.

Dec. 13, 2010
The Carter Center: The Year In Review
An overview of the Carter Center's peace and health achievements during 2010.

Nov. 15, 2010
Workshops Aim to Bring Peace, Stability Through Better Journalism in Bolivia
For veteran journalist Raúl Novillo Alarcón, navigating the streets of La Paz, Bolivia, is easier than keeping pace with the country's political roadmap. "This is a difficult time for journalism in Bolivia," he said.

Oct. 20, 2010
Making Inventions Out of Necessity to Fight River Blindness
Dedicated to fighting river blindness in his native Cameroon, Carter Center epidemiologist Philippe Nwane employs creativity and innovation to monitor the debilitating parasitic infection.

Oct. 4, 2010
Q&A With Pewee Flomoku: Son of Liberia
In 2003, Liberia began to emerge from 14 years of brutal civil war that ravaged the nation's physical, economic, and social foundations. A central challenge of reconstruction is to create a functional and accountable justice system, a prerequisite for lasting peace and democratic progress. While the nation's postconflict peace-building efforts have made remarkable progress, many challenges remain in the effort to ensure accountability and provide justice for all Liberians.

Aug. 20, 2010
Journey to Liberia: Carter Center Staffer Reflects on Country's Mental Health Needs, New Initiative
Many Liberians suffer from trauma, depression, and other mental health issues following more than a decade of civil conflict. With only one psychiatrist in the entire country, and just a handful of nurses with mental health training, treating those who suffer from mental illnesses has been almost impossible. Jane Bigham, assistant program coordinator for the Carter Center's Mental Health Program, recently traveled to the West African country. Below, she reflects on her journey and what a new Carter Center mental health initiative will mean for the people of Liberia.

Aug. 19, 2010
Stadium Massacre Fuels Survivor's Commitment to Full Democracy for Guinea
Quietly recalling the memory of people jumping from stadium walls to save their lives, and others falling like flies from the gunfire of soldiers, Bademba Diallo remembers thinking in the chaos of that afternoon: "you only die once."

Aug. 16, 2010
As Nepal Struggles, Observers Keep Information Flowing
For Carter Center observer Antonia Staats, traveling by car in the Western Region of Nepal is a blessing and a curse. A car is necessary for reaching all of the region's 16 districts, where for six months last year, she monitored Nepal's challenging path to a new government and long-term peace. But with poor infrastructure in many parts of the country, Staats and the other observers on her team often encountered roads that were submerged or blocked by landslides from a monsoon.

Aug. 1, 2010
Ugandan Man Helps Rid His Community of Onchocerciasis
In the early 1990s, fear dominated the community of Jawe parish, found in Mbale district, Uganda. The Jawe clan's neighboring parishes, Buryango and Bulweta, were being plagued by an unknown ailment that attacked a person's skin and eyes. The disease left its victims unable to care for themselves or their families.

July 12, 2010
Journalism Fellow Kelly Kennedy Uncovers the Many Faces of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder 
A mortuary services soldier came home angry and suicidal, having processed the dead faces and body parts of numerous service members. A well-loved first sergeant killed himself in front of his men. A platoon that had just lost several soldiers refused to go back on patrol, fearful that their rage would lead to more death.

June 21, 2010
Nomadic Groups Pose Challenge in Push to Eliminate Guinea Worm Disease From Southern Sudan (Video Feature)
The lives of an estimated 70 percent of the people living in Southern Sudan are intrinsically entwined with their cattle.

May 25, 2010
Video Journal:  Pioneering Approach Brings River Blindness To Brink of Elimination In Sudanese Community
Abu Hamad, a vast and isolated  desert community 500 kilometers from the Sudanese capitol Khartoum, is on the verge of disproving a long-held belief among public health professionals that river blindness (onchocerciasis) cannot be eliminated in Africa due to poor health care delivery and the disease's prevalence.

May 17, 2010
Guinea Worm Eradication Efforts Gain Further Momentum With Significant Case Reductions in 2009
The Carter Center-led drive to eradicate Guinea worm disease gained significant momentum in 2009, with an all-time low of 3,190 total cases reported – a 31 percent decrease from 2008.

May 11, 2010
Guinea Worm Village Volunteer Viviana Kolong Works to Protect Her Community from Debilitating Disease
It is early morning in Molujore village of Terekeka County in Southern Sudan, and Viviana Kolong, a 30-year-old mother of three, dresses carefully in a cool, yellow and white cotton dress and orange flip flops, adding a black bracelet and white beaded rosary to complete her outfit. As the wind picks up and the temperature starts its punishing rise, Kolong leaves her mud hut, passing by her home's empty grain stores. As usual, it will be a long day.

May 11, 2010
Ghanaian ATI Conference Participant Coordinating Campaign for Country's Right to Information Law
In Ghana, where the government is currently debating the passage of a right to information bill, Nana Oye Lithur coordinates the campaign to ensure the proposed law will conform to international standards and enhance transparency and accountability.

May 10, 2010
In The News: Carter Center Observes Elections, Tackles Guinea Worm Disease in Sudan
Major media highlights of Carter Center health and peace work in Sudan.

May 4, 2010
Join Brookings Institution Scholar Cheng Li in the Field to Study Progress in China's Rural Village Elections
Cheng Li, director of research and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution's John L. Thornton China Center, was part of a small Carter Center delegation that traveled to China in March to advance the Center's programming efforts there.  These include working to help standardize the vast array of electoral procedures taking place in local communities and foster better governance, as well as rural and urban community building and civic education about rights, laws, and political participation.

May 1, 2010
Integrated Drug Treatment Saves Time, Money in Nigeria
Over the past three years, The Carter Center, in partnership with the Nigeria Ministry of Health, has introduced an innovative way of simultaneously treating several parasitic diseases in Nigeria. In this approach — known as triple-drug treatment — a health worker gives a community member three different medicines at one time that in combination treat river blindness, lymphatic filariasis, schistosomiasis, and several kinds of intestinal worms. In the interview that follows, Frank Richards Jr., M.D., who directs the Center's programs for fighting these diseases, discusses the benefits of the triple-drug approach.

April 29, 2010
Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter Launches Tour for "Within Our Reach: Ending the Mental Health Crisis"
Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter has been deeply invested in mental health issues since her husband's gubernatorial campaign when she saw firsthand the horrific, dehumanizing treatment of people with mental illnesses. Using stories from her 35 years of public service to discuss the larger issues at hand, Mrs. Carter crafts an intimate and powerful account of a subject previously shrouded in stigma and shadow that affects us all.

April 16, 2010
Meet Teshome Gebre: Lion of Disease Prevention in Ethiopia
Teshome Gebre, the Carter Center's country representative for health programs in Ethiopia, likes to joke that he has been in public health service for what seems like 100 years. Yet, it's impossible to ignore the great joy Teshome has received from a lifetime dedicated to fighting disease in his native Ethiopia.

April 16, 2010
Millions Mobilize April 17-23 in Amhara Region For Trachoma Treatments, Malaria Health Education
Impoverished communities in Amhara Region, Ethiopia—the world's most trachoma-endemic area—are harnessing an innovative and far-reaching approach to treating and preventing this blinding bacterial infection.

April 16, 2010
Carter Center Successfully Integrates Antibiotic Distribution, Health Education During Intensive Weeklong Efforts Against Blinding Trachoma, Malaria
With a population of approximately 17 million, the Amhara Region of Ethiopia is one of the most severely affected trachoma-endemic areas in the world. There are currently more than 15 million people at risk of infection and approximately 470,000 people visually impaired as a result of trichiasis, the blinding form of the disease. In addition, the region is susceptible to seasonal malaria epidemics, putting the majority of the population at risk for the potentially fatal disease.

April 1, 2010
Long-Term Sudan Observers Impressed with Enthusiasm, Mobilization of Communities Readying for Elections
Carter Center long-term observers in Sudan, who have been deployed since August 2009, will soon be joined by a full delegation to observe the country's April elections. In teams of two, long-term observers have assessed pre-election developments, including voter registration in December. They face many challenges in their work but also have a unique opportunity to get to know the people and the places to which they are deployed.

March 25, 2010
Innovative Smartphone Technology Streamlines Election Observation Process
The Carter Center, long at the forefront of the election observation field, is working with students at Georgia Tech to take the field forward again – using smartphone technology to streamline the observation process and compile the findings of observers in an efficient and transparent way.

March 15, 2010
Siblings Work Together to Prevent Malaria in La Bomba, Dominican Republic
Brother and sister Juan Tavares Rodriguez and Casilda Trejada Abreu live with their family in a pine board home in La Bomba, Dominican Republic.

March 15, 2010
Sudanese Domestic Election Observer Feels Sense of Responsibility To Next Generation
Merekaje Lorna can't wait to vote. A domestic election observer trained by The Carter Center in Sudan, she believes she and other young Sudanese have a responsibility to contribute to credible elections for the sake of the next generation, and as her country approaches its first multi-party elections in 24 years, she looks forward to being able to choose her leaders.

March 1, 2010
Medical Student Travels Far to Perform Trichiasis Surgery
Mekuria Amare, a health officer in the North Gondar Zone of Ethiopia, is currently completing his clinical training at Gondar University to become a medical doctor. Mekuria initially received training as a health officer, providing him the opportunity to provide general health care to a rural population. In 2007, he was trained by The Carter Center to provide trichiasis surgery at his health post in the remote district of Telemt.

March 1, 2010
Gen. Dr. Yakubu Gowon Stands as Hero in Guinea Worm Eradication
The last case of Guinea worm disease in Nigeria was suffered by Grace Otubu, 58, of Ezza Nkwubor village in Enugu state, whose worm emerged in November 2008. Twelve months later, Nigeria triumphed over the ancient, crippling affliction, also known as dracunculiasis, that had affected hundreds of thousands of Nigerians at its peak. The success of Africa's most populous nation against this debilitating waterborne parasite would not have been possible without the hard work of the endemic communities, the relentless vigilance of the national program, and the dedication of Gen. Dr. Yakubu Gowon, Nigeria's former head of state.

Feb. 3, 2010
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to View Major Progress Against Guinea Worm Disease in Sudan
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, will travel to the world's most Guinea worm-endemic country—Sudan—Feb. 9-12, 2010, to personally appeal for completing eradication of the crippling waterborne parasite as soon as possible and to urge peace and stability in the nation as it prepares for its first multi-party elections in 24 years in April, which the Carter Center's international election observation team will monitor.

Jan. 26, 2010
Meet Yalanbu Zenabu: Former Trichiasis Patient Sees Hopeful Future
Three years ago, Yalanbu Zenabu of Botingli, northern Ghana, was consumed by the daily suffering of trachoma.  As a victim of trichiasis, the blinding form of trachoma, her disease had progressed to the stage where her eyelashes scratched against her eye, causing intense pain and debilitation.

Jan. 26, 2010
Ghana Conference to Address Africa's Right of Access to Information, Develop Action Plan
Listen to Laura Neuman, associate director for the Americas Program at The Carter Center and the access to information project manager, discuss the upcoming African Regional Conference on the Right of Access to Information, to be held in Accra, Ghana, on Feb. 7-9.

Jan. 26, 2010
Meet Olawale Fapohunda: Committed to Proposed African Charter
Olawale Fapohunda believes that the proposed African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG) will enable African citizens to more fully participate in the electoral process and advance protection of human rights by African governments.  And, in places like his home country of Nigeria, he feels the need for its ratification is vital.

Jan. 11, 2010
Empowering Elimination of Malaria and Lymphatic Filariasis from Hispaniola: Snapshots from the Field
In September 2008, The Carter Center and a binational effort between the Dominican Republic and Haiti launched a historic one-year initiative to help the countries and their other partners accelerate the elimination of two devastating mosquito-borne infections—malaria and lymphatic filariasis.

Jan. 11, 2010
Battling Mosquitoes and Malaria in La Bomba, Dominican Republic
It's a Sunday afternoon in La Bomba barrio, a subdistrict of Dajabón, Dominican Republic, and the entire community can be found outside their clapboard and cement block homes to beat the stifling heat.

Jan. 11, 2010
Tracking Fevers and Teaching Prevention: A Haitian Health Agent's Story
A crowd of children follow Jonel Mompremier, 27, as he travels from house to house in Ouanaminthe, Haiti. They giggle as the health worker asks the same question at every doorstep, "Does anyone at home have any fevers?"

Jan. 8, 2010
Profile From the Field: Dr. Mauricio Sauerbrey
If passion is a key ingredient for success, then Dr. Mauricio Sauerbrey embodies the necessary "stuff" for meeting the goal of interrupted transmission of river blindness — or onchocerciasis—in the Americas by 2012.

Jan. 6, 2010
China Elections and Governance Online Receives Top Web Awards From China-Based Publications
China Elections and Governance Online, a project of the Carter Center's China Program, has received top honors from two major Chinese publications. Named Web site of the year in China by Southern Weekend – an international current affairs weekly, based in Guangzhou, Chuangdong Province – China Elections and Governance Online was also recognized recently as a "top organization working for promotion of public interest in China" by Nanfeng Chuang (South Wind Window) magazine.

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