From 3.5 million cases to only 10 worldwide. The Carter Center’s four-decade campaign against Guinea worm is making history. When eradicated, it will be the first disease defeated purely through community action, without a vaccine or medicine.
William Foege, who died at 89, developed the ring vaccination strategy that helped eliminate one of history’s deadliest diseases, a triumph that has prevented hundreds of millions of deaths.
A new documentary chronicles President Jimmy Carter’s nearly four-decade campaign to eliminate guinea worm disease—an ancient parasite that once afflicted millions—using education and clean water rather than vaccines or medication.
At the River Kayo, Ugandan Ministry of Health and Carter Center staff are carefully monitoring the black flies that breed in its waters for evidence of the parasite that causes onchocerciasis.
The prospect of eradicating Guinea worm disease remains on track, with just 15 human cases reported in two countries in 2024, reports The Carter Center.