Jimmy Carter visits OPEC Fund

Former US President Jimmy Carter paid a courtesy call on the OPEC Fund, June 26, to express appreciation to the Fund for its contribution to the final phase of the Guinea Worm Eradication Program, one of the major initiatives of the Carter Center, the development cooperation organization he and Rosalynn Carter founded in 1982 in Atlanta, Georgia (USA).

Dedicated to "waging peace, fighting disease and building hope," the Carter Center has been at the forefront of the global campaign to eliminate Guinea worm disease (dracunculiasis) from the face of the earth since 1986, when WHO, UNICEF, and a host of bilateral and multilateral development organizations, ministries of health in endemic countries, NGOs and private corporations got together to launch the first phase of the program.

President Carter was welcomed to the Fund by H.E. Dr. Y. Seyyid Abdulai, Director-General, and other senior officials. In his welcoming speech, Dr. Abdulai thanked President Carter for taking the time to "touch base" at the Fund and expressed his high personal regard for him, commending his untiring work on behalf of the weak and poor, and praising his "magnanimity and nobility of spirit."

Dr. Abdulai said the Fund was proud to be associated with the Carter Center's historic efforts to eradicate "the debilitating scourge of Guinea worm," which has been a huge hindrance to development in endemic areas. The Director-General also highlighted the Center's program to control River Blindness (onchocerciasis), another "undertaking in which President Carter and the Fund were partners."

Dr. Abdulai spoke of Mr. Carter's many achievements, including his work in conflict resolution, refugee settlement and human rights issues. He recalled the peace missions to Bosnia, the Korean peninsula, the Sudan, Haiti, Liberia, Ethiopia and Africa's Great Lakes Region. The Director-General also mentioned Mr. Carter's collaboration with the Task Force for Child Survival and Development, his support of the Peace Corps, his activities in America's inner cities, and some of the ambitious and effective programs of Global 2000, such as the Program for Increased Agricultural Productivity in Africa.

Addressing President Carter directly, the Director-General said it was a source of delight for him that the objectives of the Carter Center and those of the OPEC Fund coincide, and that their "mutual concerns focus on the poorest peoples and social groups in the world - the hardest pressed and most under-privileged." Dr. Abdulai recalled, with special warmth, that President Carter had taken the time, early in his presidency, to visit some of the poorest countries of the world, including a number of African countries.

Responding, Mr. Carter congratulated the OPEC Fund for demonstrating in a "vivid and practical way the advantages of dealing directly" with the poor and for eliminating "the organizational confusion, delays and paperwork" that so often accompany development assistance.

He then spoke at length and with enthusiasm about the work of the Carter Center, focusing on its health initiatives, its attempts "to end or prevent armed conflicts," and its efforts to cooperate with countries like Albania or Mozambique, helping them to implement "national strategies" for the development of democratic institutions, functioning civil societies and sustainable social and economic improvement.

Speaking of the Guinea Worm Eradication Program and its success, Mr. Carter noted that the incidence of the disease has already been reduced to less than 5% of the pre-1986 level and predicted that complete eradication would soon be achieved, making dracunculiasis only the second disease after smallpox to be vanquished. Referring to a donors' meeting he had attended in Bamako, Mali, earlier this year, Mr. Carter remarked:

"This was the seventh meeting of the African countries that have been afflicted by this disease since time immemorial, but we will not have another meeting because it won't be necessary. Except for a few villages ... which are still inaccessible because of conflict, Guinea worm will soon be erased from every village in Africa and three Asian countries where it was endemic."

The President thanked the OPEC Fund warmly for its support of the final stages of the campaign. He also spoke glowingly of the generosity of the leaders of some OPEC member states, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait, who had responded to his personal requests for contributions to the Guinea Worm Eradication Program with significant donations.

President Carter (74) was in Vienna to attend a conference on human rights issues, sponsored by the United Nations. Mr. Carter was the 39th President of the United States. He served from 1977 to 1981.


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