Jimmy Carter Works to Eliminate Guinea Worm Disease

Jimmy Carter

Pol Light Moment #129 ocurred in 1986 when Jimmy Carter started his efforts to eradicte Guinea worm disease.  Jimmy Carter was the 39th President of the United States, serving from 1977-1981. Prior to that he served as the Governor of Georgia from 1971-1975.

Here is a video of Jimmy Carter during a news conference on his cancer diagnosis where he stated his last wish is to see the eradication of the Guinea worm.

The Carter Center led by Jimmy Carter started working to eliminate Guinea worm disease in 1986 (Carter Center Website). Guinea worm disease is a painful health problem that people get from contanimated water.

Guinea Worm disease exists in just four countries today:  South Sudan, Mali, Chad and Ethiopia. The Carter Center says on their website, "In 1986, the disease afflicted an estimated 3.5 million people a year in 21 countries in Africa ad Asia. Today, thanks to the work of The Carter Center and its partners--including the countries themselves--the incidence of Guinea worm has been reduced by more than 99.99 percent to 22 cases in 2015."

On February 3, 2016, Carter addressed Britain's House of Lords on the success of hs work with this disease (Associated Press, Jimmy Carter to Make Rare Address to British House of Lords, January 30, 2016).

Jimmy Carter has been featured in other Pol Light moments and can be found by searching this blog with the Jimmy Carter Label.

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Photo: The photo in this post is in the Public Domain as an official photo of the United States government.