Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
CDC shares its heartfelt condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of former United States President Jimmy Carter. In addition to his many years of public service, President Carter, along his wife, Rosalynn, founded The Carter Center in 1982. Its purpose was and remains to "wage peace, fight disease, and build hope in communities worldwide."
To support the fight against disease, The Carter Center joined forces with CDC and other global partners to establish the Guinea Worm Eradication Program in 1986. At the time, there were an estimated 3.5 million cases of Guinea worm disease in 20 countries. Due to the commitment from partners, The Carter Center, and President Carter himself, cases of Guinea worm disease have decreased by 99.99 percent, making it likely to be the first human disease eradicated since smallpox. This will be an astounding feat considering there are no drugs to treat nor vaccines to prevent Guinea worm disease.
President Carter famously said, in his 2002 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, "Most of The Carter Center's [work] is in remote villages in the poorest nations in Africa and there I have witnessed the capacity of destitute people to persevere under heartbreaking conditions. I have come to admire their judgment and wisdom, their courage and faith in their awesome accomplishments when given a chance to use their innate abilities."
CDC salutes President Carter for pioneering new public health approaches to preventing and controlling devasting neglected tropical diseases including Guinea worm disease, lymphatic filariasis, river blindness, schistosomiasis, and trachoma. And CDC aims to carry out his vision by eradicating Guinea worm disease by 2030.
The Carter Center also works on malaria and lymphatic filariasis through its Hispañola Initiative and on mental health programs, a cause championed by Rosalynn Carter.