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Transcript/ScriptGUINEA WORM ERADICATION MILESTONE
HEADLINE: Only 14 cases of Guinea Worm Infection Reported Globally in 2021
TEASER: Global effort places the tropical ailment close to being the second disease ever eradicated
PUBLISHED AT: January 26, 2022, 4:06p
BYLINE: Kane Farabaugh
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Chicago, Illinois
VIDEOGRAPHER:
PRODUCER: Kane Farabaugh
SCRIPT EDITORS: Bowman, MAS
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, Carter Center, Skype
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO __
TRT: 3:25
VID APPROVED BY: Reifenrath
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: ((In the story, the footage from 00:00 - 00:24 is all original VOA video. Also, the footage from 02:59 - 3:04 is also original VOA video.))
((INTRODUCTION))
The Atlanta-based Carter Center is making dramatic progress in the eradication of Guinea worm disease. VOA's Kane Farabaugh reports that if the remaining endemic countries in Africa — Chad, South Sudan, Mali, Ethiopia and border areas of Cameroon — rid the parasite completely, it would become the first disease in human history eradicated through prevention and not vaccination.
((NARRATOR))
As he faced the world during a 2015 press conference, grappling with a potentially fatal cancer diagnosis, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said he had one more goal to fulfill.
((Jimmy Carter, Former President)) ((2015))
“I’d like the last Guinea worm to die before I do.”
((NARRATOR))
Over six years later, Carter — now 97 — has battled through brain cancer and other health setbacks to see his Carter Center mark a historic milestone ...
((Mandatory cg: Carter Center))
…. in the fight to rid the world of the once neglected tropical disease the global nonprofit began dedicating resources to fighting in 1986.
((Adam Weiss, Director of the Carter Center's Guinea Worm Eradication Program)) ((Mandatory cg: Skype))
01:40 “We are pleased to mention that there are only 14 human cases in the world through the end of 2021, and none logged so far in 2022.”
((NARRATOR))
((Mandatory cg: Carter Center))
That’s the lowest number of recorded cases in human history says Adam Weiss, the director of the Carter Center’s Guinea worm eradication program. The milestone places the effort close to being only the second disease ever eradicated.
((Adam Weiss, Director of the Carter Center's Guinea Worm Eradication Program)) ((Mandatory cg: Skype))
02:15 “So every year more than 3 million people were suffering from Guinea worm. And today to be able to say only 14 human beings on a planet of almost 8 billion people is just remarkable.”
((NARRATOR))
((Mandatory cg: Carter Center))
Remarkable in part, says Weiss, because the 14 cases in 2021 is also a 48 percent drop from the previous year — a time when the world has been dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.
((Adam Weiss, Director of the Carter Center's Guinea Worm Eradication Program Director)) ((Mandatory cg: Skype))
07:10 “The national programs [that operate the Guinea worm program] have remained almost entirely operational throughout the pandemic.”
((NARRATOR)) ((Mandatory cg: Carter Center))
Weiss says much of the Guinea worm eradication effort in endemic countries isn’t staffed by foreign nationals, but instead relies on local villagers and community members to manage prevention efforts at local water sources.
((Makoy Logora, South Sudan Ministry of Health))
((Mandatory cg: Skype))
04:19 “We built a formidable force at the community level. We ensured that we have a program that was anchored within the structure of a community. And we work every day to ensure that there is ownership at the community level.”
((NARRATOR)) ((Mandatory cg: Carter Center))
Makoy Logora is the director of the Guinea worm eradication effort with the Ministry of Health in South Sudan, a country that at one point accounted for almost 80 percent of global infections. The effort to fight Guinea Worm prevailed over civil war and sporadic unrest in South Sudan to reach the point of only four recorded cases in 2021.
((Makoy Logora, South Sudan Ministry of Health)) ((Skype)) 07:15 “I want to believe if we can do it in South Sudan, it can be done everywhere.”
((NARRATOR)) ((Mandatory cg: Carter Center))
Mali, Ethiopia, Chad and parts of its border area with Cameroon are the last strongholds of Guinea Worm on the planet. But while the effort has mostly met success, it has also experienced setbacks.
((Adam Weiss, Director of the Carter Center's Guinea Worm Eradication Program)) ((Mandatory cg: Skype))
05:45 “What we’ve seen in the last ten years or so is infections occurring in domestic animals, and so we did experience a setback to the global campaign in 2012 when we started to see that occurring.”
((NARRATOR)) ((Mandatory cg: Carter Center))
But only a small number of cases were recorded in animals in 2021, and the fight against the worm seems to be nearing the finish line. As the number of Guinea Worm cases globally dwindles, President Carter’s age advances, and Adam Weiss says everyone involved in the effort would like to see the goal of zero cases reached soon.
((Adam Weiss, Director of the Carter Center's Guinea Worm Eradication Program)) ((Mandatory cg: Skype))
19:56 “I would like nothing more than to see it happen in his lifetime. You know President Carter as our big boss but also as our north star trying in trying to help keep us focused. ...
It adds a layer of pressure and also a layer of responsibility that we all have.”
((Kane Farabaugh, VOA News, Chicago))
NewsML Media TopicsHealth
Topic TagsHealth, Public Health
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateJanuary 26, 2022 18:20 EST
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
