Melinda French Gates, Philanthropist
My hero Jimmy Carter was a peacemaker, a public servant, a man of faith, a devoted partner to Rosalynn—and a Guinea worm’s worst nightmare. I knew him best as a global health advocate and deeply admired his dedication to taking on diseases that impact the world’s poorest people, like Guinea worm disease.
When President Carter left office, there were more than 3.5 million cases of this painful, debilitating disease around the world each year. This year, thanks in no small part to the work of the Carter Center, that number was down to single digits. He dreamed of outliving the last Guinea worm—and came incredibly close.
As he traveled around the world meeting with heads of state, monitoring elections, visiting clinics, and building homes, he took time to connect to the people he met. He believed in removing the barriers that separated a man like him—a former President and Nobel Prize winner—from people living with the realities of poverty and disease.
One of my favorite teachings says: “To know that even one life has breathed easier because you lived, this is to have succeeded.” We honor President Carter by remembering that because of him, life is healthier, better, and safer not just for one life, but for millions.