News & Publications

Carter Center Peace and Health Feature Articles

Read stories of lives changed by the Center's commitment to creating a world in which
every man, woman, and child has the opportunity to enjoy good health and live in peace.

 

Feb. 3, 2010
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to View Major Progress Against Guinea Worm Disease in Sudan
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, will travel to the world's most Guinea worm-endemic country—Sudan—Feb. 9-12, 2010, to personally appeal for completing eradication of the crippling waterborne parasite as soon as possible and to urge peace and stability in the nation as it prepares for its first multi-party elections in 24 years in April, which the Carter Center's international election observation team will monitor.

 

Jan. 26, 2010
Ghana Conference to Address Africa's Right of Access to Information, Develop Action Plan
Listen to Laura Neuman, associate director for the Americas Program at The Carter Center and the access to information project manager, discuss the upcoming African Regional Conference on the Right of Access to Information, to be held in Accra, Ghana, on Feb. 7-9.

 

Jan. 6, 2010
China Elections and Governance Online Receives Top Web Awards From China-Based Publications
China Elections and Governance Online, a project of the Carter Center's China Program, has received top honors from two major Chinese publications. Named Web site of the year in China by Southern Weekend – an international current affairs weekly, based in Guangzhou, Chuangdong Province – China Elections and Governance Online was also recognized recently as a "top organization working for promotion of public interest in China" by Nanfeng Chuang (South Wind Window) magazine.



Dec. 21, 2009
Guinea Worm Disease:  Nigeria's Last Case
Once the most endemic country for Guinea worm disease in the world, Nigeria declares victory in its 20-year war. In Ezza Nkwubor village in southeastern Nigeria, 58-year-old Grace Otubo sits on a wooden bench and touches her right heel, recalling where a Guinea worm painfully emerged in November 2008.

 

Dec. 2, 2009
Dispatch From Bolivia:  The Carter Center Blogs From The 2009 Presidential and Legislative Elections
Join the Carter Center's Deborah Hakes, assistant director of public information, on the ground in Bolivia, as she blogs daily through Dec. 7 about the presidential and legislative elections, their importance for the Latin American country, and the Carter Center's role in the process.  She joins the Carter Center election observation delegation led by Americas Program Director Jennifer McCoy.


Nov. 9, 2009
Update: Carter Center Assists Ecuador-Colombia Agreement
Ecuadorian Chancellor Fander Falconí met with his Colombian counterpart Jaime Bermúdez in Cotacachi, Ecuador, on Nov. 3, 2009, in a meeting facilitated by Dr. Jennifer McCoy of The Carter Center and José Miguel Insulza of the Organization of the American States (OAS).

 

Oct. 12, 2009
Carter Center Assists Ecuador-Colombia Agreement
Ecuador and Colombia recently announced that they will begin steps to establish diplomatic relations at the charge d'affairs level by the end of October.

 

Oct. 8, 2009
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Carter Center Delegation Tour Hispaniola to Support Elimination of Malaria and Lymphatic Filariasis from Caribbean
Efforts to eliminate malaria and lymphatic filariasis from the Caribbean island of Hispaniola were underscored Oct. 7-8 during a visit by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and a Carter Center delegation.

 

Oct. 5, 2009
Carter Center-Sponsored Web Site Redesigned to Engage China's Youth
After seven years online, the Carter Center sponsored-Web site www.chinaelections.org is one of the most visible platforms in China for the dissemination of democratic awareness and civic culture. The site, which receives a robust 65,000 visits per day, was recently redesigned to attract younger people and to expand its focus on global elections.

 

Aug. 13, 2009
Attaining a Culture of Peace in Bolivia
In Bolivia, political disputes often escalate to the brink of conflict. One of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, Bolivia's ethnic and cultural diversity, as well as struggles over natural resources, fuel strong social and economic tensions.

 

July 21, 2009
Human Rights House Provides Safe Space for Activists, Supports Citizens in Democratic Republic of the Congo
The initial vision for the Carter Center's Human Rights House was to provide both a space and forum for human rights activists in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, building on the momentum of the 2006 elections.

 

June 29,  2009
East Jerusalem Family Forced to Demolish Part of Own Home, Center Expert Cites Abuse of Permit System
From the roof of his family's home in East Jerusalem within the walls of the Old City, Raed Sa'id points to the golden Dome of The Rock, which is glowing in the late-afternoon sun.

 

June 25, 2009
Farmer Sows Seeds of Change in his Ghana Community
In the small agricultural community of Bondo, Ghana, Kojo Osonyame finds it difficult to suppress his smile as he walks through the fields of his fertile farm. Acre after acre bursts forth with healthy crops creating a colorful maze of peppers, eggplants, okra, cassava, and plantains.

 

June 24, 2009
Nigerien Soap Provides Income, Helps Prevent Blindness
It is nearly evening in the desert village of Adorihi in southern Niger, and 36-year-old Aisha Oumarou crouches over her cooking fire carefully mixing oil into a pot on coals. Although the mixture smells faintly of peanuts, the hot dough that Oumarou extracts from the pot and rolls between her hands is not destined to be the evening's meal, but balls of soap.

 

June 17, 2009
Election Day in Lebanon:  Carter Center Observers Monitor Polling Sites
A multinational Carter Center delegation observed Lebanon's June 7 parliamentary elections, monitoring polling sites throughout the country's 25 qadas (districts). Led by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former Yemini Prime Minister Abdulkareem Al-Eryani, the 60 member delegation included elected officials, electoral and human rights experts, regional specialists, and political and civic leaders from more than 20 countries in North America, Africa, Europe, South America, Asia, and the Middle East.

 

June 17, 2009
Carter Center Successfully Distributes Nine Million Doses of Antibiotics During Ethiopia MALTRA Weeks
With a population of approximately 17 million, the Amhara Region of Ethiopia is one of the most severely affected trachoma-endemic areas in the world. There are currently more than 15 million people at risk of infection and approximately 470,000 people visually impaired as a result of trichiasis, the blinding form of the disease. In addition, the region is susceptible to seasonal malaria epidemics, putting the majority of the population at risk for the potentially fatal disease.

 

June 3, 2009
The 2009 Lebanon Parliamentary Elections: Deborah Hakes Blogs from Lebanon
Join the Carter Center's Deborah Hakes, in Lebanon with the multinational Carter Center delegation, as she blogs daily about the sights and sounds "on the ground" and the importance of these elections for the country and region.

 

May 29, 2009
Ghanaian Reggae Artist Sings Out Against Guinea Worm Disease, Educates Concert-Goers About Prevention
It is dusk in northern Ghana and communities reverberate with the local mosque's call to prayer. The setting sun has fallen beyond the concrete buildings that flank the market square, casting everyone in deep purple shadow. Thousands of people are making their way to this rural outpost, the current epicenter of the country's decades-long battle to eradicate Guinea worm disease.

 

May 28, 2009
Carter Center Deploys Election Observation Delegation to Lebanon's June 7, 2009, Parliamentary Elections
A multinational Carter Center delegation will observe Lebanon's June 7 parliamentary elections, monitoring polling sites throughout the country's 25 qadas (districts). Led by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former Yemini Prime Minister Abdulkareem Al-Eryani, the 50-some member delegation includes elected officials, electoral and human rights experts, regional specialists, and political and civic leaders from more than 20 countries in North America, Africa, Europe, South America, Asia, and the Middle East.

 

May 21, 2009
New York Times Spotlights Gender Violence and Rule of Law in Liberia
New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof recently traveled to Liberia to explore progress against sexual and gender violence there and the impact of the Carter Center's rule of law project.

 

May 18, 2009
Carter Center Observers in Lebanon Prepare for Upcoming Election
The Center's long-term observers are currently monitoring the pre-elections environment in Lebanon ahead of a larger delegation that will arrive closer to election day. Read the experiences of two observers.

 

April 24, 2009
Blog from Latin America: Americas Program Director Jennifer McCoy Writes From Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil
Dr. Jennifer McCoy, director of the Carter Center's Americas Program, is traveling with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter as a member of the Carter Center delegation to Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil from April 27 to May 4, 2009.  Read her blog entries below.

 

April 22, 2009
Long-Term Observers Share Their Experiences in Aceh, Indonesia
Long-term election observers Whitney Haring-Smith and Eunsook Jung have been deployed in Aceh since March 2009 as part of the Carter Center's mission to observe Indonesia's April 9, 2009 parliamentary elections. Aceh was devastated by the 2004 tsunami, which killed or displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

 

Feb. 20, 2009
Carter Center Conducts Human Rights Training for Congolese Police Officers  
Until recently, police officers in Kimbasneke, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), investigated case files at a music bar or other public space because they didn't have office space. When it rained, they carried the papers under their shirts to preserve the files.

 

Feb. 19, 2009
CNN's "Impact Your World" Initiative Features a Q&A with Dr. Donald R. Hopkins
In this Q&A with CNN, Dr. Donald R. Hopkins, vice president of the Carter Center's Health Programs, discusses the countdown to eradication.

 

Jan. 28, 2009
Out of Hope Springs Tulips: Jerome Lawrence
There are a lot of images that convey the spirit of the Carter Center's work around the world, but few are as unusual and exuberant as a painting of bright red tulips by local Atlanta artist Jerome Lawrence. The vibrant, cheerful painting titled "Tulips are People II," was featured on the Carter Center's 2008 holiday card.

 

Dec. 27, 2008
Ghana Voter Committed to Peaceful Election Process; Encourages Peers to Vote
As the sun rose on Ghana's second election day in two weeks, Alice Appoh had already stood in line for hours to wait for voting to begin, her two-year-old child sound asleep on her back.

 

Dec. 22, 2008
Harvard Article Spotlights the Carter Center's Work in Rural Liberia
At the invitation of  President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, The Carter Center is helping Liberia rebuild  its legal infrastructure, which is a prerequisite for lasting peace and democratic progress. We work in partnership with leaders at the highest levels of government, as well as those in the most remote areas of Liberia, and act as a communication bridge between these groups.

 

Dec. 9, 2008
Carter Center Delegation Observes Ghana's Peaceful, Historic Elections
More than 50 Carter Center observers witnessed Ghana's Dec. 7 elections, the results of which will determine the country's next president and parliament.

 

Nov. 4, 2008
Carter Center Hosts Chinese Delegation to Witness U.S. Elections in San Francisco, Washington, D.C.
A Chinese delegation hosted by The Carter Center is studying today's U.S. election in the San Francisco and Washington, D.C., areas to learn more about election procedures and reduce misperceptions by the Chinese of the American democratic system.

 

Oct. 8, 2008
Ambitious Goal to End Blindness-Inducing Disease
Conventional wisdom says trachoma — the leading cause of preventable blindness worldwide — can only be treated, not eliminated. But Teshome Gebre, The Carter Center's point man for trachoma control in Ethiopia, hopes to defy that wisdom. He is convinced that trachoma's blinding and debilitating effects can be stopped before the end of the next decade, the targeted goal for global trachoma elimination.

 

Sept. 1, 2008
Killing the Worm
Published in GOOD Magazine, Issue 012, pages 106-115.
Disease eradication hasn't had a success since smallpox in 1979. Now, Guinea worm disease—in which a three-foot long worm burrows through its victim's body—is holding out in just a few African countries. The quest to wipe it out is slow and controversial, but the finish line is in sight.

 

Aug. 23, 2008
Financial Times Feature:  The Worm That Turned Back
Published in the Financial Times, Aug. 23, 2008, Weekend Edition, pages 15-18.
When Makoy Samuel Yibi Logora was growing up in a village in southern Sudan, no one there knew what caused Guinea worm. But they certainly understood its effects. The skin swells and becomes infected as a thin white parasitic worm takes several weeks to emerge slowly, agonisingly, through a huge blister.

 

Aug. 7, 2008
Carter Center Works to Improve Bilateral Relationship Between Colombia and Ecuador
The Carter Center is working to improve the bilateral relationship between Colombia and Ecuador through a dialogue process between key citizens of both countries, which it organized in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program.

 

Aug. 7, 2008
New Video:  "The Carter Center in Latin America" Highlights Promotion of Meaningful Democracy
The Carter Center works toward the collective protection and promotion of meaningful democracy in the Western Hemisphere.  The Center strives to enhance the quality of democracy and its ability to improve the lives of individuals in three areas:

 

July 25, 2008
Sadia Revisited:  A Young Girl's Triumph  Over Guinea Worm Disease
During 2007, Sadia Mesuna, 6, spent two months at a Guinea worm containment center in Ghana after an outbreak of the disease in her hometown of Savelugu, in the Northern Region.  She was in agony as three Guinea worms emerged from her feet.

 

June 23, 2008
Guinea Worm Cases Drop to Fewer Than 10,000
The countdown to complete elimination of Guinea worm disease is ticking closer to zero. Ethiopia, Cote d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Togo now have joined the list of countries reporting an end to transmission of the disease. The Carter Center leads the international coalition fighting the disease.

 

May 2, 2008
Palestinians in Gaza Ask Jimmy Carter:  Former U.S. President Answers Videotaped Questions
At the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, nongovernmental representatives from the human rights community and nongovernmental organizations gathered to hear President Carter's April 21, 2008 Jerusalem press conference and send him their questions via video.

 

May 1, 2008
The Carter Center Embraces Next Quarter-Century
In practice, waging peace, fighting disease, and building hope are not easy tasks. Yet our mission at The Carter Center is to embrace these difficult responsibilities, accepting failure as a possible outcome. In our first 25 years, the Center showed that no matter how insurmountable challenges to global peace or health may seem, there is hope they can be overcome.

 

May 1, 2008
In the News:  Interviews with Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter
Archived video, links to transcripts, of President Carter's recent media interviews.

 

April 21, 2008
Nepal Elections Mark New Political Beginning
Carter Center election observers witnessed a historic vote in Nepal on April 10 creating a constituent assembly to draft a new constitution for the country that will likely abolish the 240-year-old monarchy.

 

April 10, 2008
International Carter Center Delegation Observes Historic Nepal Elections
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter led the Carter Center's international election observation delegation to Nepal's historic constituent assembly elections, co-led by Dr. Surakiart Sathirathai, former deputy prime minister of Thailand.

 

March 25, 2008
Life on the Edge:  Carter Center Project Examines Development Challenges on Ecuador-Colombia Border
Buenaventura Morales has a kind face worn weary from life, and friendly eyes that hide the depression plaguing him since he fled his native Colombia after massacres to his village in 2004. His wife died along the way, and he said he feels unable to support his four children by himself; he can't find a job in this poor border region of Ecuador.

 

March 6, 2008
The Carter Center Malaria Program Celebrates Successes in Ethiopia
After launching its malaria program in 2006, The Carter Center moved quickly to supply a shortfall of 3 million LLINs, requested by the Ethiopian Ministry of Health to help reach Ethiopia's goal of 20 million LLINs to cover all households in malarious areas by mid-2007.

 

Feb. 21, 2008
Conference to Address Advancements, Challenges to Worldwide Access to Public Information Laws
Access to public information matters to the average citizen: it is a human right with the power to make a difference in both individual lives and in the life of a community.

 

Feb. 11, 2008
Carter Center Assists Liberia's Ministry of Justice in Strengthening Rule of Law
Involved with Liberia since 1991, when invited by West African leaders during the country's first civil war to assist in the peace process, The Carter Center observed Liberia's 1997 and 2005 elections and has worked there in many other ways over the years.

 

Dec. 12, 2007
25 Years of The Carter Center: Changing Agenda, Enduring Principles
The year 2007 marks the Carter Center's 25th anniversary. In the following article, former
U.S. President Jimmy Carter reflects on the Center's evolution and his hopes for waging peace, fighting disease, and building hope into the future.

 

Nov. 29, 2007
Carter Center Helps Educate Liberians on Laws, Rights
Although the country's decades of violence are over, Liberia's women continue to face their own private wars: marital rape, domestic abuse, poverty. The Carter Center, at the invitation of Liberia's Ministry of Justice and in partnership with community-based organizations in the West African country, is helping close the violence gap through local education programs and governmental capacity building.

 

Oct. 12, 2007
Election Delayed, But Long-Term Observers Continue in Nepal
Nepal has undergone tremendous changes in the past year. A 2006 peace agreement ended a decade of fighting between government forces and the Maoists, and the country's king gave up all power other than his ceremonial status. Plans were set in motion to elect a constituent assembly, which would determine the country's future by writing a new constitution.

 

Oct. 12, 2007
Long-Term Election Observers Go the Distance in Nepal (slide show)
A Carter Center multimedia feature on the Carter Center's long-term election observers — the only international observation mission in Nepal — deployed throughout the country.

 

Oct. 12, 2007
Long-Term Election Observer Reflects on Being Part of Nepal "Roaming Team"
Jason Katz is a long-term observer (LTO) for the Carter Center's election observation mission in Nepal. Katz previously worked at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs in Washington, D.C., and served as an election monitor during both rounds of elections in Peru in 2001.

 

Oct. 12, 2007
Nepal Elections:  By Foot, Car, and Plane, Observer Assesses Country's Readiness
Stefanie Gross is a long-term observer (LTO) for the Carter Center's election observation mission in Nepal. Originally from Germany, Stefanie completed her undergraduate degree in political studies and her postgraduate degree in conflict resolution in the United Kingdom before interning at The Carter Center in 2006.

 

Oct. 9, 2007
Carter Center Mental Health Program Observes World Mental Health Day
Mental illnesses affect people of all ages in all countries and societies,  from the boy soldier in Sierra Leone traumatized by years of bloody civil war to the aging farmer in Oklahoma suffering from depression. These illnesses have a profound impact on the quality of life for individuals and families and stunt economic growth in societies around the world.

 

Oct. 9, 2007
In South Africa, a Journalist Finds Words for Unspeakable Tragedies
It was a recurring headline in South African newspapers: "Cop Murder-Suicide Claims Family." Dozens of sons, fathers, and husbands working in the South African Police Service had committed these crimes against their own families, but the stories of what motivated them were rarely told.

 

Oct. 9, 2007
Mental Health Fellow Breaks Down Stereotypes
Time and money to access voluminous public records are luxuries most reporters do not have to investigate negligence or malfeasance in the public sector.

 

Oct. 9, 2007
Journalism Fellowships Expand to Romania
Alex Ulmanu sometimes wonders if things could have been different.
"I had a colleague in university who was a brilliant, brilliant person and who committed suicide in her very early 20s. We learned afterward that she was suffering from schizophrenia," Ulmanu said.

 

July 24, 2007
Emory Awards Honorary Doctorate to Longtime Carter Center Mental Health Supporter
Beverly Benson Long, a mental health pioneer whose efforts were instrumental in establishing the Rosalynn Carter Endowed Chair for Mental Health at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree during Emory's 162nd commencement ceremony.

 

July 17, 2007
Carter Center Consultant Norman Borlaug Receives Congressional Gold Medal for Food Research
Norman Borlaug, Nobel peace laureate and senior consultant of the Carter Center's Agriculture Program, was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal here July 17 for his work on high-yield, disease-resistant varieties of wheat credited with starting the "Green revolution" and alleviating starvation in India and Pakistan in the 1960s.

 

June 12, 2007
New Malaria Program Blankets Areas of Ethiopia with Bed Nets
Ethiopian farmer Mamo Tesfaye is no stranger to disease. Four years ago, he could only sit idly outside his home as the growing season came and went. Afflicted with river blindness, he could not see well enough to work his land or provide for his children.

 

May 22, 2007
Carter Center Issues Final Report on 2006 Nicaragua Elections
The Carter Center has issued the final report on the 2006 Nicaragua elections, Observing the 2006 Nicaragua Elections (Observación Electoral Nicaragua 2006).  Held November 5, 2006, this was the fourth national election in Nicaragua observed by The Carter Center since 1990.

 

Feb. 23, 2007
Reporters Find Inspiration in Mental Health Stories
In South Africa, men view depression as a sign of weakness. So when veteran journalist Marion Scher wrote a story on the topic for the South African magazine Men's Health, she was thrilled that the men she interviewed allowed her to use their real names.

 

Sept. 27, 2006
Removing the Scar of Guinea Worm Disease: One Village at a Time
The muddy pond is as brown as the hillsides surrounding it...

 

Sept. 25, 2006
Carter Center Calls for Better Mental Health Care for All Georgians
Five-foot-six-inches tall, Angela Ford's weight has varied from 90 pounds to her current 216.

 

Aug. 31, 2006
Election Renews Hope for Family in War-Torn Democratic Republic of the Congo
The afternoon sun catches Yayu Zonveni's face near the door of her otherwise shadowy home in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).