Progress in guinea worm eradication

Overview

In 1986 the WHO World Health Assembly resolved that dracunculiasis could and should be eliminated_ This decision was made possible by the extraordinary efforts that had been made, especially by Global2000 and the Cent er for Disease Control, to demonstrate that this debilitating and costly disease can be eradicated.

Progress in the last 10 years has been dramatic with reported cases dropping from more than 3.5 million cases in 1986 to just under 165,000 cases in 1994, with a further reduction to approximately 100,000 cases expected by the end of 1995. Moreover, the number of endemic villages (reporting one or more cases in the past year) has been reduced from over 23,000 at the end of 1992 to less than 8,000 at the end of 1995.

Millions of individuals have become healthier and more productive through a strategy using village-based case detection, provision of safe drinking water, filtering water where safe water is not available, and health education. Now, in the final phase, a "case containment" strategy aims to accelerate the guinea worm eradication process by finding every single worm within 24 hours of its emergence, and applying individual as well as village-wide measures to ensure that no new infection occurs. In a number of countries, more than 80% of cases have been thus contained during 1995.

A 1995 award winning film, "Yore, the Empty Granary" documents how these strategies are being successfully implemented in Mali. This film also shows the critical role played by Mali"s former head of state, General Amadou Toumani Toure who continues to play a major role in mobilizing the political support of African leaders for guinea worm eradication in many of the afflicted countries.

Today's "celebration evenf' is to mark all of these accomplishments. This event also reaffirms our commitment to finishing what has been started, although the goal of eradicating guinea worm by the end of 1995, aimed for by Africa's Ministers of Health in 1988 and by the 1991 World Health Assembly, has not been completely achieved. Efforts should be redoubled until the remaining cases are eliminated and the disease completely eradicated. Success will be accomplished with the continued and strengthened efforts of WHO, UNDP, UNICEF, World Bank, national governments in afflicted and supporting countries, as well as Global2000 and other NGOs. With sustained action and conviction, we shall succeed together to achieve our common goal.