Jimmy Carter on the future of the Guinea worm disease fight
Former President Jimmy Carter, speaking with Denis O’Hayer on “Morning Edition”
On Jan. 20, former President Jimmy Carter will be at the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. When the two men meet, the former president says he’ll talk to the new one about the Carter Center’s three-decade effort to eradicate Guinea worm disease, which has long plagued parts of Africa. The parasite, which people get from drinking contaminated water, can disable victims for months.
Yesterday, the Carter Center announced that the number of countries reporting human cases of Guinea worm dropped to 3 last year, with a total of only 25 cases. By contrast, according to the Carter Center, when its fight against the disease began in 1986, there were 3.5 million cases in 21 countries.
In a conversation with Denis O’Hayer on “Morning Edition,” the former president talked about the future of the fight against the disease, and the chances of achieving zero cases. Carter also offered some brief thoughts on Trump’s pledge to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
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