Carter Center to Honor Four African Countries for Stopping Guinea Worm Disease Transmission

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Emily Staub
In Atlanta, 404-420-5126

Emily.staub@emory.edu

ATLANTA....The four African countries of Benin, Central African Republic, Mauritania, and Uganda will be honored Wednesday, Nov. 15 from 6 to 7 p.m. during a special awards ceremony and reception at The Carter Center, recognizing their stopping the transmission of Guinea worm disease for at least a year.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter will make presentations during the event.

Guinea worm (dracunculiasis), a crippling parasitic disease marked by the growth of long thin worms that emerge through the skin, is targeted to be one of the next diseases for eradication.

The Carter Center has led an international coalition that has reduced incidences of the disease from an estimated 3.5 million cases when the campaign was launched in 20 countries in 1986, to fewer than 11,000 cases in nine countries in 2005.

####

The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide. A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, the Center has helped to improve life for people in more than 65 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; improving mental health care; and teaching farmers to increase crop production.

Learn More About the Carter Center's Guinea Worm Eradication Program >>