Millions Saved: Reducing Guinea Worm in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa
2007
This case describes the global and Sub-Saharan country coalition to eradicate guinea worm. Led by the Carter Center, international organizations provided technical and financial assistance. Ministries of Health implemented the primary interventions of providing safe water (through deep well digging, applying larvicide, and purifying water through cloth filters); health education; containing cases, managing programs, and disease surveying. Guinea worm prevalence declined dramatically so that in 2005 only 11,000 cases were reported instead of the 3.5 million in 1986. By 2005 63 million cases had been prevented and the disease transmission had been stopped in 11 of the 20 endemic countries.
This case study is part of Millions Saved, a collection of case studies produced by the Center for Global Development that describes successful examples of large-scale efforts to improve health in low- and middle-income countries, as well as promising interventions that fell short of their health targets when scaled-up in real world conditions.
Millions Saved: Reducing Guinea Worm in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa
Source:
Levine R. Reducing Guinea Worm in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Center for Global Development 2007. http://www.cgdev.org/page/case-11-reducing-guinea-worm-asia-and-sub-saharan-africa.