Brazil

River blindness, or onchocerciasis, is a parasitic disease transmitted through infected black flies that live near rivers and streams. It causes skin rashes, changes in pigmentation, and severe itching. In the worst cases, it can lead to vision impairment or blindness. 

Brazil is one of two remaining countries in the Americas with transmission of river blindness, which occurs in a portion of the Amazon rainforest where the migratory, indigenous Yanomami people straddle the Brazil and Venezuela border and are exposed to the parasitic disease in their daily activities. Their remote, densely forested, and insecure location complicates getting them medicine and health education. 

Our Work and Methods

The Carter Center’s Onchocerciasis Elimination Program for the Americas (OEPA) helps develop and implement novel strategies for mass drug administration two to four times a year. These approaches include:

• Using boat-based supply chains to go upriver to reach the Yanomami people 
• Clearing and rehabilitating old landing strips to allow aircraft to access otherwise unreachable communities
• Enhancing technical approaches to track program progress by community
• Training and deploying indigenous health agents

Impacts

• Notable progress is being made to eliminate river blindness transmission throughout the YFA.
• Rounds of successful high-coverage treatment in communities are interrupting transmission. 

The Carter Center will deploy an election expert mission to Brazil for the Oct. 4, 2026, general elections.

The expert mission will focus on election technology, the legal framework for electoral administration, and voter education. The team will visit a limited number of polling stations on election day but will not assess the conduct of voting or make a comprehensive assessment of the election process as a whole.

Previously, we monitored the 2022 presidential election which took place during a period of intense pressure on the electoral system, particularly because of the spread of disinformation. Brazil’s Superior Electoral Tribunal invited The Carter Center to visit and assess the October election.  

Our Work and Methods 

Beginning in June 2022, the Center deployed a small team of election experts to Brasilia, Curitiba, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Goiânia to focus on issues relating to the function and transparency of voting technology systems.  

The mission met with electoral authorities at federal and state levels, as well as political parties, oversight entities, and a diverse range of civil society organizations.  

Impacts 

The Center’s election experts noted that the challenge of disinformation goes far beyond Brazil and must be addressed by societies across the globe.  

The presence of domestic election observation teams in addition to international observers was an important step in the consolidation of Brazilian democracy. 

More information about our Brazil election work is available in our publications section. 

Through its groundbreaking Inform Women, Transform Lives campaign, The Carter Center partners with city leaders worldwide to raise awareness about women’s right to access information and to help cities reach women with valuable information and essential municipal services.  

Access to this information empowers women with a stronger voice, enabling them to participate in public life, utilize public services, and make more informed decisions for themselves, their families, and their communities. In Brazil, this project has collaborated with the cities of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Recife. 

While on a fact-finding tour to prepare for the 1997 consultation “Agenda for the Americas for the 21st Century,” a delegation of Carter Center representatives — including President Carter and Mrs. Carter — met with leaders in Brazil and also made stops in Argentina, Chile, and Jamaica.

Another delegation visited São Paolo in 2009, when President Carter received Brazil’s highest civilian award, the Ordem do Ipiranga, in recognition of his administration’s work on human rights and democracy promotion in the region. The group also visited President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brasilia to discuss the 2010 presidential election.