Former President Jimmy Carter Chosen as 2017 Prix Galien Pro Bono Humanum Honoree

The Carter Center lauded for leading the battle against six common, preventable diseases in resource-limited countries.

Founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, The Carter Center seeks to prevent and resolve conflicts, enhance freedom and democracy, and improve health worldwide. Part of the organization’s mission is to create a healthier world through eliminating six core preventable diseases: Guinea worm, river blindness, trachoma, schistosomiasis, lymphatic filariasis, and malaria in Hispanolia.

Just one year ago, The Carter Center reached a major milestone with the delivery of 500 million doses of donated medicines to target tropical diseases in 14 African and Latin American countries. The Carter Center has played a leadership role in the elimination of river blindness, a parasitic infection, in four of the six Latin American countries where it was endemic (Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Guatemala), and has halted the disease’s transmission in several locations in Africa where more than 99 percent of the global cases exist.

*Photo: The Carter Center/Emily STAUB