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President Carter speaks on filling ‘the vacuums of the world’
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“We at the Carter Center feel health is one of the basic human rights,” Mr. Carter said.
He said the Carter Center’s River Blindness Program has helped to deliver more than 35 million treatments for onchocerciasis since 1996. The Mectizan treatment (ivermectin, Merck) does not cure river blindness, he said, but stops it from spreading. He explained that it can also eliminate the itching and the sores associated with the disease.
“Often having the opportunity to receive treatment can be as precious as a diamond,” Mr. Carter said. “Fortunately, with the help of many local and international partners, the Carter Center is able to provide treatments directly. We place Mectizan directly into their mouths.”
The River Blindness Program helps residents of affected communities and local health care workers establish and sustain treatment and related health education activities.
President Carter said that in the Sudan, water treatment filters had been installed in many homes to help prevent transmission of the disease. Unfortunately, because the country is in political upheaval, researchers are unable to get back to the Sudan to investigate whether the filters have been successful, he said.
“Our dream is that there will be peace in the Sudan,” he said.
The center is also heavily involved in controlling trachoma, especially in Africa. Mr. Carter said trachoma is the No. 1 cause of preventable blindness is the world. He said the Carter Center’s efforts to treat trachoma employ the SAFE formula: Surgery to correct lid deformities; Antibiotics to treat active disease; Face washing; and Environmental treatments to improve water supply and household hygiene and sanitation.
Twenty-year effort
The Carter Center was established 20 years ago with commitment to aid human rights and alleviate suffering. Nearly half of the center’s budget goes toward health care expenditures around the world.
“We don’t duplicate the effective efforts of others,” Mr. Carter said. “We try to fill some of the vacuums in the world. We believe people can improve their own lives when provided with the necessary skills, knowledge and access to resources.”
Mr. Carter also spoke about his visit to Cuba in May. He said that although Cuba is to be praised for its excellent health care system, “it is still a dictatorship, and the people there are not free.”
He explained that the health care system in Cuba is in some ways better than the U.S. health system. In Cuba there is one physician for every 170 people, he said, while in the United States there is one physician for every 360 people.
President Carter added that there is a very low incidence of AIDS in Cuba, while in the United States there are nearly 900,000 cases of AIDS. He added that AIDS, which he called a “horrible disease,” is the No. 1 health care problem worldwide.
At the reception, hosted by Novartis Ophthalmics, Novartis officials announced a pilot program to aid the Carter Center’s efforts to fight trachoma in Ethiopia. In addition to a $50,000 donation, Novartis will donate supplies of its Eye Scrub cleanser, officials said.
For Your Information:
- Contact the Carter Center at One Copenhill, 453 Freedom Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30307; (404) 420-5109; fax: (404) 688-1701; Web site: www.cartercenter.org.