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ATLANTA — The late U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s goal to eradicate Guinea worm disease remains on track, with 14 provisional human cases reported worldwide in 2024. That figure aligns with some of the lowest annual totals of human cases ever reported, following 14 cases in 2024 and 13 cases in 2022. When Carterassumed leadership of the global Guinea Worm Eradication Program in 1986, an estimated 3.5 million human cases occurred annually in 21 countries in Africa and Asia.

Together with partners — including the countries themselves — the campaign has reduced the disease by more than 99.99% and averted more than 100 million cases of this devasting disease among the world’s most marginalized and neglected populations.

Eight of the 14 provisional human cases reported in 2024 occurred in Chad; the other six were in South Sudan. Angola, Cameroon, Ethiopia, and Mali reported zero human cases. A small number of 2024 specimens are waiting to be processed. If testing confirms they are Guinea worms, interventions will be further intensified, investigations will continue to identify case origins, and the provisional case total will be adjusted.

“A single worm can cause multiple new cases the following year, and we’re actively preventing outbreaks in some of the most challenging and complex environments,” said Dr. Kashef Ijaz, Carter Center vice president of health programs.

In the six African countries, reported infections in animals declined 24%, from 887 in 2023 to 671 in 2024. Chad reduced Guinea worm infections by 43% [from 497 to 281], its fifth consecutive year of improvement. Reductions in animal infections in Chad, Angola, and Mali were partially offset by an increase in Cameroon.

“The low provisional numbers show that communities’ unwavering commitment to reaching zero and interventions to reduce human suffering are working,” said Adam Weiss, director of the Carter Center’s Guinea Worm Eradication Program.

All figures for the water-borne disease, humans and animals, are provisional until officially confirmed by the countries at the eradication campaign’s global annual meeting, typically in April. Guinea worm is poised to become the second human disease in history to be eradicated, following smallpox, as well as the first parasitic disease and the first without a medicine or vaccine. Local mobilization and community-based behavioral change are key drivers of success.

For a disease to be declared eradicated, every country in the world must be certified free of human and animal infection, even countries where transmission is never known to have taken place. To date, the World Health Organization has certified 200 countries free of Guinea worm (Dracunculus medinensis); only six have not been certified.

Carterleads the global campaign, working closely with national ministries of health and a variety of global institutions including the WHO, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, and other vital partners. Many generous foundations, corporations, governments, and individuals have made the work to eradicate Guinea worm disease possible. Learn more: cartercenter.org/GuineaWormWarriors

Editor’s note:
For nearly 40 years, Carterhas been a leader in the eradication, elimination, and control of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Today’s Carter Center announcement comes on the sixth annual . NTDs are a group of 21 preventable and treatable diseases that affect more than 1.7 billion people around the world. NTDs cause disability and disfigurement, and some can be fatal. They create and continue cycles of poverty and cost developing nations billions of dollars in direct costs and lost productivity.

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Contact: In Atlanta, Emily.Staub@cartercenter.org

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Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope.

A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, Carterhas helped to improve life for people in over 80 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; and improving mental health care. Carterwas founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide.