Health Programs

Guinea Worm Eradication Program
 
Ernesto Ruiz-Tiben, Ph.D.,  Director, Guinea Worm Program

Dr. Ruiz-Tiben joined The Carter Center in 1992 after more than 27 years of service as a commissioned officer of the U.S. Public Health Service at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since 1998 Dr. Ruiz-Tiben has served as director of the Carter Center's Guinea Worm (Dracunculiasis) Eradication Program. In this capacity, he works in conjunction with the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Research, Training, and Eradication of Dracunculiasis at the CDC, monitoring and disseminating information about the status of the global campaign, and providing technical assistance to national eradication programs.

During his tenure at CDC, Dr. Ruiz-Tiben headed the Helminthic Disease Branch, Division of Parasitic Disease, National Center for Infectious Diseases. He has worked to control the disease schistosomiasis in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Suriname, Brazil, Egypt, and Liberia, and dengue fever in the Caribbean area. For this outstanding work, he received special commendations from the U.S. Public Health Service. Additionally, in recognition of his contributions to the global initiative to eradicate dracunculiasis, the CDC in 1990 awarded him the U.S. Public Health Service's Outstanding Service Medal.

Dr. Ruiz-Tiben holds a master's degree from the University of Puerto Rico and a doctorate in epidemiology from the University of Texas, School of Public Health at Houston.

Read Full Bio

Philip Downs, M.P.H,  Assistant Director, Guinea Worm Eradication Program

As assistant director, Mr. Downs supports the Guinea worm program's director in overseeing all operations for the Guinea Worm Eradication Program. In this role, Mr. Downs manages the recruitment, processing, and monitoring of international technical advisers in the remaining endemic countries and assists in the development of geographical information systems for disease surveillance and strategic planning. 

Mr. Downs has worked in international public health for more than a decade, including three years of service in Cote D'Ivoire with the U.S. Peace Corps. Since 1999, Mr. Downs has assisted the Carter Center's health programs in various capacities, first as a public health consultant to the Global 2000 initiative and then as resident technical adviser for Ghana's trachoma control and Guinea worm eradication programs. While serving as resident technical adviser in Ghana, he provided technical and financial support to the national programs to implement eradication and control interventions, as well as trained and supervised field supervisors in infectious disease surveillance and monitoring.