The success of the Ugandan National Onchocerciasis Program in Abeju means that fewer children will be ostracized because of river blindness. Many of the benefits of Uganda’s National Onchocerciasis Elimination Program, supported by The Carter Center, are readily apparent: reduced blindness and itching, increased productivity, and better overall health outcomes. Learn more »
In early November, The Carter Center reached a trachoma milestone: supporting the distribution of more than 100 million doses of the trachoma-fighting drug Zithromax®, donated by Pfizer Inc. These treatments were provided over the last 11 years to trachoma-endemic communities in six African countries: Ethiopia, Mali, Nigeria, Niger, Sudan, and South Sudan. Learn more »
Carter Center expert Dr. John Bartlett, a senior project adviser to the Mental Health Program and organizer of this year’s 29th Annual Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy, answers your questions submitted via email. Learn more »
The crowded courtyard at Chuahit Health Clinic in North Gondar, Ethiopia, is full of people — elders talking, mothers swaying side to side to soothe their infants, health workers hurrying back and forth between offices. Suddenly, a small corner of the clinic erupts in laughter.
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After casting her ballot this morning in Bhaktapur, 33-year-old Sangita Shrestha felt joy, but the feeling was tempered by a stern message she had for those who will be elected to Nepal's new constituent assembly, "Do your job properly and draft a new constitution as soon as possible."
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Voter turnout was high as Nepalis defied strikes and scattered violence leading up to Nepal's Nov. 19 constituent assembly election. The Carter Center, which has maintained a team of election observers in Nepal since 2007, deployed 66 observers from 31 countries to provide an independent and impartial assessment of this election process and ensure voting was transparent, credible, and fair.
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President Carter spoke with ABC's George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America about the Center's fight to wipe out trachoma and combat other neglected diseases. No former president has served longer out of office or made such a mark against some of the world's most intractable problems, Stephanopoulos said as he introduced the president. Learn more »
Carter Center expert David Pottie explains the importance of Nepal’s upcoming election and the role of Carter Center observers. Learn more »
On Nov. 5, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter joined Pfizer Inc. CEO Ian Read at Pfizer headquarters in New York City to celebrate major progress in the global campaign against the blinding disease trachoma as the Center prepares to distribute its 100 millionth dose of Zithromax ®, a Pfizer-donated antibiotic used to treat the disease.
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The geographic lines dividing Sudan and South Sudan “are completely blurry, so we focus on the lines that connect us,” Professor Jok Madut Jok, undersecretary in South Sudan’s Ministry of Culture, said during a “Conversations at The Carter Center” on Oct. 15. Learn more »
Thanks to the generosity of Dr. Robert Pastor and his wife, Margy, a fellowship is now available to support the work and study of a summer fellow in the Carter Center’s Americas Program. The founder and former director of the Americas Program, Dr. Pastor was advisor for Latin American affairs on the National Security Council in the Carter White House. Learn more »
A community art group has been helping the Carter Center’s Onchocerciasis Elimination Program for the Americas (OEPA) highlight vital health messages. Learn more »
In rural Liberia, the formal justice system often is not yet working or accepted, and many communities lack legal resources such as a police station or magistrate. They turn instead to village chiefs and elders to keep the peace. Learn more »
On World Mental Health Day, Oct. 10, we here at The Carter Center will pause to reflect upon the many advances in the field of mental health, including improvements in diagnosing and treating mental illnesses, as well as advancing parity for mental health in our health care system. Learn more »
By Laura Neuman, manager, Global Access to Information Program
In celebration of International Right to Know Day on Sept. 28, 2013, The Carter Center and local partners in Liberia hosted a series of activities to raise awareness of the value of freedom of information and to encourage the use and full implementation of the country’s 2010 Freedom of Information Act. Learn more »
Moultrie, Ga., Police Chief Frank N. Lang Sr. recently traveled with the Carter Center’s Mental Health Program to Liberia where he helped train local law enforcement officers on how to support people experiencing a mental health crisis. Learn more »
From their headquarters at Bogotá's Caracol television news, health reporters Paula Bedoya and Fernanda Hernández have covered the flu, prenatal care, eyesight, and cancer. But mental health is one medical topic these two journalists rarely, if ever, tackle.
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The National Council for Behavioral Health has recognized The Carter Center and three other organizations with the 2013 Advocacy Leadership Awards for their contributions to the field of mental health. Learn more »
The Nobel Peace Prize, the playwright Henrik Ibsen, the pop group A-ha — this was pretty much the extent of my knowledge about Norway until recently. But this summer, The Carter Center was invited by the Kingdom of Norway to observe their Internet voting trials in connection with this year’s parliamentary elections, which took place on Monday, Sept. 9. With a first visit in July, I have since learned a great deal more. Learn more »
By Rick Goldsmith, 2013-2014 Rosalynn Carter Fellow for Mental Health Journalism
I was drawn to WNBA star Chamique Holdsclaw’s story from the day I read a piece on her in the New York Times in early 2012. She’d been the best of the best at her sport, took a great fall, but emerged in apparent recovery as an advocate who was remarkably candid about her own story. Learn more »
On Sept. 10, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, New York Times Op-Ed Columnist Nicholas D. Kristof, and Carter Center disease eradication expert Dr. Donald R. Hopkins held a special video chat, “Global Health: How We Can Make a Difference,” to kick off a new series called Conversations on Google+ launching later this fall. Learn more »
“Dark Forest, Black Fly,” an independent documentary feature film from award-winning producer Gary Strieker and Cielo Productions, offers an in-depth look at Uganda’s pending triumph against river blindness, a disease that has blinded sufferers in Africa for thousands of years. Learn more »
On Aug. 19-22, the Carter Center’s Access to Justice Project, in collaboration with Liberia’s ministries of Justice and Internal Affairs, trained 30 youth leaders in Kakata on conflict resolution skills and knowledge of the rule of law. Learn more »
Watch the Carter Center’s Far Western Region team observing voter registration for upcoming national and local elections in Nepal and discussing their work. Since 2009, The Carter Center has monitored and reported on issues related to Nepal’s peace process. The Center’s long-term observers are deployed throughout the country and often travel to remote communities to gain an understanding of local perspectives. Learn more »
When Liberian high school student George Toddy failed the math and science sections of his college entrance exam, he was disappointed but not surprised — he had heard that his region had a very high failure rate compared to other parts of the country. Learn more »
All eyes were on Zainah Anwar as she spoke these words during a human rights conference at The Carter Center in the summer of 2013. One sentence, eight words, embodied the three-day forum on the role of faith in women’s rights. "God cannot be God if God is unjust."
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By Dr. Tom Frieden, director, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
It was an honor to share the stage with former First Lady Rosalynn Carter at the 18th annual Rosalynn Carter Georgia Mental Health Forum in May. We celebrated the publication of the MMWR Weekly Report Supplement: “Mental Health Surveillance Among Children in the United States — 2005-2011,” the first-ever summary of federal activities tracking children’s mental disorders in the U.S. Learn more »
Top religious leaders, activists, and religious scholars representing more than 15 countries and over 35 faith-based organizations, universities, and religious bodies, who are committed to making concrete gains in women's rights gathered at The Carter Center June 27-29 for the conference "Mobilizing Faith for Women: Engaging the Power of Religion and Belief to Advance Human Rights and Dignity.".
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During its commencement ceremonies May 30, Harvard University presented Carter Center Vice President of Health Programs Dr. Donald Hopkins with an honorary Doctor of Science degree for his leadership in disease eradication, particularly his work on the Center’s campaign to wipe out the water borne affliction Guinea worm disease. Learn more »
Prominent leaders from Sudan and South Sudan have come together twice this spring to discuss how to strengthen peace and create a lasting understanding between the two countries.
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In 2008, Audrey Kasandi remembers traveling to school in a convoy escorted by armed police for safety, and seeing burned down shells of houses and tent villages stretched across fields full of internally displaced people in Kenya's Rift Valley as the country recoiled from post-election violence. Yet when opportunity arose to serve as deputy presiding officer of a polling station in March 2013, she jumped at the chance despite her fears.
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Carter Center and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) experts discuss the latest updates on the campaign to wipe out a debilitating parasitic disease, river blindness (onchocerciasis) from the Western Hemisphere via Google+ Hangout On Air. Learn more »
On April 18, 2013, former U.S. First Lady and Carter Center Co-Founder Rosalynn Carter and former Congressman Tony Coelho joined experts from the federal government and other mental health officials to discuss new research published in the American Journal of Public Health’s first theme issue on stigma against people with mental illness at The Carter Center in Atlanta. <p>The theme …</p> Learn more »
Rebecca Palpant Shimkets, assistant director in the Carter Center’s Mental Health Program, describes the stigma facing people with mental illnesses and how the Carter Center’s activities aim to help. Learn more »
By Carter Center Trachoma Control Program Director, Dr. Paul Emerson
This is an excerpt from Carter Center Trachoma Control Program Director Dr. Paul Emerson’s Huffington Post Blog, “The Eye of the Beholder: Why Fighting Trachoma Matters.” Learn more »
By Ben Dunant, Carter Center election observer, Nepal
We sat within walls of mud and thatch that warped gently into corners that flaked at the seams, cross-legged on thick carpets with woven Tibetan patterns. Our hosts in the village of Sikles presented us with local food that arrived in portion after portion, all accompanied by steamy hot glasses of raksi, the milky-colored spirit distilled from harvested millet. Learn more »
The Carter Center is working to enable Tshiamilemba and other local Congolese mining communities to seek redress for such human rights violations and to demand changes moving forward from both mining companies and government.
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By Tina Rezvani, assistant program coordinator, Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism
Recently, the Carter Center Mental Health Program hosted the panel discussion “Beyond Stigma: Bringing the Conversation about Mental Illness Forward,” on the stigma of mental illness among young adults. One topic that proved especially important was the role social media plays in young people’s lives and, consequently, their mental health. Learn more »
Looking back, Nicolae Ciorogan, 38, might tell you that his life has been a journey to learn about many different kinds of people — as a child growing up in Transylvania, Romania, a documentary filmmaker in the Peruvian Andes, and as a television photojournalist in Boston.
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On March 5, the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) awarded Dr. Adetokunbo O. Lucas the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Humanitarian Award for Dr. Lucas’ “outstanding humanitarian efforts and achievements that have contributed to improving the health of humankind.” The NFID, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the public and health care professionals about infectious disease, has given the award. Learn more »
Carter Center election observers in Kenya reported longs lines outside many polling stations on March 4, some nearly a kilometer long, and voters waited in lines for up to six hours or more.
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It was hard to feel the chill of winter in San Diego, Calif., as donors and supporters from around the world came together for the Carter Center’s annual Winter Weekend fundraiser at the Hotel Del Coronado on Feb. 20-24. Now in its 21st year, the Winter Weekends have raised more than $19 million to support the Center’s work. Learn more »
Alidu Kemisa cannot seem to stop rubbing her arms and touching her head as she describes the symptoms that have plagued her for more than ten years: pain, intense itching, and roughening of her skin.
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There is no vaccine or medicine to fight Guinea worm disease; instead, The Carter Center uses four main interventions to lead the international campaign against the debilitating parasite. Learn more »
Ronald McDonald House Charities® (RMHC®) has awarded The Carter Center $200,000 to support the Mental Health Program in Liberia. The funding will be used to train mental health care providers and to build supportive community environments that will benefit individuals suffering from mental illnesses and their families. Learn more »
By Ellen Lust, a Carter Center political analyst in Jordan
Jordan’s Jan. 23 parliamentary elections are taking place in a climate of uncertainty, due to dissatisfaction with the pace of electoral reform and frustration with the state of the economy. In late-November there were demonstrations against the monarch, sparked by a sharp increase in gas prices. Learn more »
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Carter Center Guinea worm experts Drs. Donald R. Hopkins and Ernesto Ruiz-Tiben will host a media roundtable via Google+ Hangout to announce the provisional Guinea worm case totals for 2012 and discuss significant progress in the international Guinea worm eradication campaign led by The Carter Center. Learn more »
“In all of these countries, the path to democracy is full of challenges,” said Hrair Balian, director of the Conflict Resolution Program at the Center. “The successful outcome will depend on the level of inclusiveness and tolerance of the new orders being created.”
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By Lindsay Rakers, senior program associate for The Carter Center
Eight years ago, the urine of 12-year-old Jude Ogwu was consistently red from blood. His father, chief of Aboh, a village in southeast Nigeria, took him to the hospital for treatment but received none. The hospital lacked medicine and the resources needed to treat Ogwu, who was suffering. Learn more »
When The Carter Center began leading the battle against Guinea worm disease in 1986, some 3.5 million children and adults around the world suffered from it. Today the disease affects fewer than 200 people in isolated pockets of Sub-Saharan Africa. One of those places is South Sudan’s Equatoria State, where the South Sudan Guinea Worm Eradication Program — assisted by the Center and partners — is mounting an all-out effort to track down and treat every case and prevent new ones from breaking out. This story takes us to the frontlines where one of the final battles is taking place: Mogos, South Sudan.
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In early 2010, remote Baimiao Township in Sichuan Province, China, was dubbed the "naked government" when local officials posted its budget online, reportedly disclosing everything from salaries to the cost of notebooks and paper cups.
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While other voters squeezed into polling stations and stood for hours in the Sierra Leone heat to cast ballots in the country's Nov. 17 general election, John Mussa moved straight to the head of the line. One advantage to having only one arm, he said, "is you don't have to wait in the queue to vote."
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