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Having begun its national Guinea Worm Eradication Program (UGWEP) in 1991 (1991 population, 16.6 million) with the third-highest number of cases reported by any endemic country, and ranked as the second-highest endemic country in the world in 1993, by 2004, Uganda celebrated its first full calendar year with no indigenous cases of the disease. Systematic interventions began in 1992 and were gradually intensified until the final indigenous case occurred in July 2003. The favorable concentration of most cases in relatively few northern districts of the country was partly offset by chronic insecurity in much of the endemic area and by repeated importations of cases from neighboring Sudan. Strong support and dedicated leadership by government officials and external partners were keys to this program’s dramatic success. This program cost approximately US$5.6 million.
Received February 2, 2006. Accepted for publication March 10, 2006.
Acknowledgments: The program is greatly indebted to the late Dr. Gilbert Mpigika (former program manager) and the late John Okidi (former national field coordinator) for hard work, and we salute the brave village volunteers, other community health workers, sub-county supervisors and district coordinators and health teams, some of whom lost their lives in the process, the field commander Den W.O. Ongwen, data manager David Ngira, administrator Paula Turyahikayo, recent program manager Dr. Peter Langi, and all other support staff of the UGWEP. We also acknowledge with gratitude the dedicated support of various staff and country representatives of The Carter Center (especially Elvin Hilyer and Mark Pelletier), the UNICEF country office (especially Kathleen Cravero, Lloyd Donaldson, Bill Fellows, and Sebunya-Kiwa), CDC, and WHO (especially Drs. Josephine Namboze, Alhousseini Maiga, and Ahmed Tayeh), including several consultants (especially the late Larry Dodd and Karl Kappus) and Dr. Anders Seim of HDI, who assisted the program. The authors thank Rosalyn Ajigbeda, Renn McClintic-Doyle, and Shandal Sullivan, who helped prepare the manuscript for publication.
Fianncial support: In 2005, The Carter Center’s work to eradicate Guinea worm was made possible by financial and in-kind contributions from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Canadian International Development Agency, AG Leventis Foundation, United States Agency for International Development, US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, OPEC Fund, Salus Mundi Foundation, Vestergaard Frandsen, BASF Corporation, many private donors, and the governments of Japan, Kuwait, Norway, Oman, and Saudi Arabia.
* Address correspondence to Donald R. Hopkins, The Carter Center, 453 Freedom Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30307. E-mail: sdsulli{at}emory.edu
Authors’ addresses: John B. Rwakimari, National Malaria Control Programme, Ministry of Health, Loudel Road, PO Box 7272, Kampala, Uganda, Telephone: 256 77 461 942, Fax: 256 41 231 603, E-mail: dr_jbr{at}yahoo.com. Ernesto Ruiz-Tiben and Donald R. Hopkins, Guinea Worm Eradication Program, The Carter Center, 453 Freedom Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30307, Telephone: 770-488-4509, Fax: 770-488-4532; E-mails: exr1{at}cdc.gov and sdsulli{at}emory.edu.
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