Former president, Jimmy Carter spoke in London along with world health organization director, Dr. Chan about his organization the Carter Centre. He said that they are in the process of holding $120 million to complete the effort of wiping the guinea worm from the earth. The guinea worm, also known as dracunculiasis, is caught by drinking contaminated water. It starts off as a blister on the leg or foot, usually, then it pops and the worm starts to come out causing an indefinite amount of burning pain. There is no cure or vaccine for this disease and it usually doesn’t kill.
He designed this program to help places in the world where there is a great need for this kind of help; however, their needs are being neglected. This plan started in 1980 when there were about 3.5 million cases of the disease. It started out all across Africa and Asia but now is only in Sudan, Ethiopia, and Mali. The Carter Centre plans to be rid of the disease completely by 2015.
I think what our former president, Mr. Carter, is trying to do is just wonderful. It’s good to see him reaching out to other countries to help solve a problem that doesn’t even affect the US and to stick with his plan and care so much. However, I hate that it has taken over 30 years and counting for them to completely eradicate it. Until reading this article, I never even knew this disease existed and that so many people across the world had the disease. What makes it even worse is that there is no cure or vaccine.
http://www.thestatecolumn.com/health/guinea-worm-jimmy-carter-eradication-cash/
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