Carter Center Receives $40M

announced Monday $40 million in donations toward the center’s campaign to eradicate Guinea worm disease by 2015.

"Millions of people in Africa and Asia will no longer risk suffering one of the most horrific human diseases ever known thanks to the generosity and global health leadership of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Children's Investment Fund Foundation, the UAE, and the United Kingdom," former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, founder of The Carter Center, said in a statement.

"These donor commitments speak to the importance that Guinea worm disease prevention and eradication has to the overall development agenda of poverty stricken nations.”

The Carter Center, located in the Poncey-Highland neighborhood of Atlanta, spearheaded the campaign to eradicate Guinea worm disease in 1986.

At the time, there were an estimated 3.5 million cases in 21 countries in Africa and Asia.

In 2011, a total of 1,060 cases of Guinea worm disease were reported in four countries — South Sudan, Mali, Ethiopia and Chad.

Guinea worm disease, also known as dracunculiasis, is most commonly reported in poor and isolated communities.  

It’s contracted when people consume water contaminated with Guinea worm larvae. After a year, one or more worms up to a meter long can emerge through painful blisters in the skin.

There are no vaccines or medicines to prevent or treat the disease. Although the disease is not fatal, it can be extremely painful and keep workers from farming fields or kids from attending school.

The effort to wipe out the disease includes health education about filtered drinking water.

"The last cases of any disease are the most challenging to wipe out," Carter said. "But we know that with the international community's support, Guinea worm disease soon will be relegated to the history books."

For more information on the campaign to eradicate Guinea worm disease, visit the Carter Center website.

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