http://www.cartercenter.org/health/g...se-totals.html
Jimmy Carter: "I’d Like to See the Last Guinea Worm Die Before I Do.'"
Carter said his center had chosen to focus on the disease because “it was in such remote villages that no one wanted to take on the task. So we decided to take it on.” In part because of these efforts, a disease that was once endemic in 31 countries in Asia and Africa is likely to be the second human disease after smallpox to be completely eliminated.
There have been some setbacks along the way. In 2013, the Carter Center warned that Guinea worm was at risk of making a comeback due to the conflict in Northern Mali. Like polio, also on the verge of eradication, political violence has been the main factor preventing Guinea worm’s eradication. But since then, cases have dropped from over 500 to just a handful.