GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (May 24, 2025) -- The Carter Center, together with countries and partners, applauds the passage today of the “Accelerating the Eradication of Dracunculiasis (Guinea worm disease) Resolution” during the 78th World Health Assembly. The renewed global commitment further ensures that this debilitating disease remains on track to be the second human disease, after smallpox, to be eradicated.
“The passage of the Guinea worm resolution by the World Health Assembly, with support from Chad and other Member States, is a fitting homage to the hard work and commitment of the late President Jimmy Carter,” said World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “WHO was proud to work with President Carter and The Carter Center, along with governments and communities around the world, in the shared effort to eradicate this ancient disease.”
The global campaign to eradicate Guinea worm has reduced the water-borne parasite by more than 99.99% and averted more than 100 million cases among the world’s most marginalized and neglected populations. When The Carter Center assumed leadership of the campaign in 1986, an estimated 3.5 million human cases occurred annually in 21 countries in Africa and Asia. In 2024, just 15 human cases were reported in two countries and only one case has been identified so far this year.
Chad, one of the world’s few remaining endemic countries, led a global effort on the resolution. It was jointly sponsored by a number of member states, including Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, China, Japan, Russia, South Sudan, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.
"I can speak from experience—no country wants to break transmission only to see the disease return and be forced to rebuild a complex, community-based program. Alongside the co-sponsoring countries, I couldn’t be more proud. Today’s resolution reaffirms the world’s commitment to eradicating this devastating disease. Each case is a person, and one case is one too many—zero is the only acceptable goal," said Dr. Abdelmadjid Abderahim Mahamat, Chad Minister of Public Health and Prevention.
From the floor of the Palais des Nations where the annual WHA forum takes place, Carter Center Guinea Worm Eradication Program Director Adam Weiss acknowledged the historic moment with a formal statement of support. Carter CEO Paige Alexander led a six-person Carter Center WHA delegation. In 2023, the Center was admitted into official relations with WHO as a non-State actor.
“Eradicating Guinea worm disease was a deeply personal mission for my grandparents,” said Jason Carter, board chair of The Carter Center and eldest grandson of President and Mrs. Carter. “They witnessed firsthand the immense pain Guinea worm causes. They knew this work could change millions of lives— and it has. The Carter Center is committed to finishing the job and we won’t back down until we reach zero.”
In addition to the cosponsors, the following countries delivered messages of support during the WHA deliberations: the Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Ghana, Panama, and South Korea.
The final cases of any eradication program are the most challenging, requiring persistence, ingenuity, and resources to operate in difficult, remote, and often insecure areas.
The passage of the resolution is a significant milestone for the global Guinea worm eradication campaign because it puts a global spotlight on a set of critical actions to accelerate and finalize eradication efforts with the support of the global community.
Key Implementing Partners’ Roles
The Carter Center leads the global campaign and works closely with national ministries of health, the WHO, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, and many other vital partners. The Carter Center provides technical and financial assistance to national Guinea worm programs to help interrupt transmission of the disease. For remaining endemic countries, when transmission is interrupted, the Center will continue assisting surveillance for 3 additional years. Together with WHO, the Center will help them prepare for evaluation by the independent International Commission for the Certification of Dracunculiasis Eradication (ICCDE), which will eventually recommend official certification by the WHO. The WHO has been setting normative guidance enabling the certification of countries and supporting all countries that stopped transmission to prepare them for certification. Currently, the WHO provides technical and financial support to improve surveillance, particularly in cross-border areas of endemic countries; in pre-certification countries such as Sudan; and in countries that have already been certified but are at risk of disease re-introduction. The WHO also supports surveillance activities among refugees and IDPs in both endemic and at-risk countries to prevent the spread of the disease.
Partnerships
Many generous foundations, corporations, governments, and individuals have made the work to eradicate Guinea worm disease possible, including major support from the Gates Foundation; the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office; the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation; the government of Japan; Schreiber Philanthropy; and Alwaleed Philanthropies. Major support from the United Arab Emirates began with His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, founder of the UAE, continued under His Highness the late Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and has grown under His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the UAE, and the Mohamed Bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity.
BASF has donated ABATE® larvicide (temephos) since 1990, and Vestergaard's LifeStraw® has donated personal pipe filters and household cloth filters since 1999. The DuPont Corporation and Precision Fabrics Group donated nylon filter cloth early in the campaign. Learn more: cartercenter.org/GuineaWormWarriors
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Contact: In Geneva, Matthew.DeGalan@CarterCenter.org
In Atlanta, Emily.Staub@CarterCenter.org
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The Carter Center
Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope.
A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in over 80 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; and improving mental health care. The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide.
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Global health leaders, including the Center's Adam Weiss, director of the Guinea Worm Eradication Program, applaud the World Health Assembly resolution to accelerate Guinea worm eradication. (Photo: The Carter Center)
