8 countries support the Abu Dhabi Declaration to eliminate Guinea worm disease

Representatives of eight countries pledged today to strengthen the necessary efforts to curb the spread of the infectious parasitic “guinea worm” and to radically eliminate it by 2030, as part of the relentless efforts to eradicate this neglected tropical disease.

During the meeting, which was held at Qasr Al Watan, officials from Sudan, Chad, Ethiopia, Mali, South Sudan, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Cameroon affirmed their absolute commitment to support the Abu Dhabi Declaration for the Elimination of Guinea Worm Disease, which stresses the need to take a set of necessary measures and measures, so that this Tropical disease, the first to be eradicated after smallpox was eradicated during the 1980s.

The announcement of support was witnessed by His Excellency Sheikh Shakhbut bin Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of State, Jason Carter, Chairman of the Carter Center Board of Directors, and Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization, in addition to support from the Global Institute for the Elimination of Infectious Diseases “Glide” and “Glide” company. Pure Health".

On this occasion, His Excellency Sheikh Shakhbut bin Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan said: “We have made great progress and remarkable progress in our efforts to eradicate Guinea worm disease, thanks to the commitment of the Carter Center and its partners around the world, and we will continue our path until the disease is completely eradicated.”

 His Excellency added: "This week, Abu Dhabi hosted the pioneers of global campaigns to eradicate infectious diseases, in order to renew the joint commitment and lay the methodological foundations to reach the last mile and eliminate the disease."

 His Excellency said: “We are proud to continue investing in the legacy of our country's founder, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God rest his soul, who believed in the necessity of preventing diseases in order to preserve the health and safety of community members. We look forward to achieving our goal of reaching the last mile and eradicating Guinea worm disease.”

  Adam Weiss, director of the Guinea Worm Eradication Program at The Carter Center, said: “We have seen a significant decrease in the number of human and animal infections over the past year, so we would like to provide the necessary assistance to partner countries to continue to progress. We need to do more and work to achieve the eradication of the disease, so this commitment is timely and required.”

 Dr. Ghebreyesus said: “We are more than 99% of the way towards eliminating Guinea worm disease so that it is a thing of the past. Our goal has become very close, and we can achieve this through dedication to work, the participation of more volunteers in the villages, and dependence on sustainable financial resources to finish the task and ensure the lives of future generations free from this dangerous disease.”

In turn, Jason Carter, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at The Carter Center and grandson of the founder of the Center, said: “The strong friendship between Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God rest his soul, and my grandfather, and they formed a strong alliance to confront Guinea worm disease, and this fruitful partnership continued for three generations and we hope it will continue. Even after eradication of Guinea worm disease.”

 The agreement on the “Abu Dhabi Declaration” was officially concluded at the conclusion of the “World Summit for the Eradication of Guinea Worm Disease 2022”, which lasted for three days, and was organized in cooperation between the “Carter Center” and the “Reaching the Last Mile Initiative” launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, in cooperation with a number of authorities.

The summit, held this week, witnessed the commitment of dignitaries from countries that suffered from the effects of the disease in the past, in addition to partner countries, with the aim of providing support to countries that are still suffering from it. Donor countries and organizations also renewed their pledges to support the campaign.

The summit aims to shed light on the efforts made by the UAE, in addition to securing new commitments from countries where Guinea worm disease is spread (Angola, Chad, Ethiopia, Mali and South Sudan), and countries that have obtained the certification of ratification (Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan), as well as Cameroon. It is a country affected by cross-border guinea worm infection.

It is noteworthy that the number of cases of Guinea worm disease was only 15 during 2021 in four countries. In 1986, the Carter Center led a campaign to eradicate and eradicate the disease, as the number of infections was estimated at about 3.5 million cases annually distributed in 21 countries.

  The late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (may God rest his soul) hosted former US President Jimmy Carter in the UAE in 1990 for the first time. During the meeting, President Carter gave an explanation about his initiative to eradicate a parasitic disease affecting the lives of millions of people community members across Africa and Asia, and the late Sheikh responded to this initiative with significant support for the Carter Center, which has cemented the UAE’s wise leadership’s commitment to eradicating disease for more than 30 years.