Madagascar

How It Started

In a partnership with Madagascar’s Ministry of Health, WHO Madagascar, and the Reaching the Last Mile Fund, the Center assists Madagascar in its efforts to eliminate lymphatic filariasis — a leading cause of permanent and long-term disability worldwide.

Our Work and Methods

The Center has expanded its fight against lymphatic filariasis to include Madagascar by:

• Working with the Reaching the Last Mile Fund and the health ministry to draft a plan
• Partnering with the health ministry and the World Health Organization Madagascar to treat people with the triple drug therapy of Mectizan®, albendazole, and DEC (donated by Merck & Co. Inc., GSK, and Eisai, respectively)
• Providing technical support through remote assistance
• Launching a survey to measure the impact of mass drug administration on the population

Impacts

In May 2025, the Center helped distribute medicines to treat more than 1.35 million people in six districts, bringing Madagascar one step closer to its goal of elimination.

Madagascar’s December 2013 elections offered an opportunity for one of the world’s poorest countries to emerge from five years of economic, social, and political stagnation that began with a 2009 coup d’état.

The Carter Center partnered with the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA) to deploy short-term observers to assess the legislative elections and second round of presidential elections, both held the same day. 

The National Independent Electoral Commission for the Transition, the first independent electoral commission in Madagascar’s history, successfully implemented the elections. Observers from the integrated EISA/Carter Center mission reported that voting and counting processes were peaceful, orderly, and in general accordance with Madagascar’s legal framework and obligations for democratic elections, and the Center urged continued commitment to peace and reconciliation in the country.

These elections marked a turning point in Malagasy history, an important step toward democracy, and a foundation for renewed growth and development.