The late U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s goal to eradicate Guinea worm disease remains on track, with 14 provisional human cases reported worldwide in 2024. That figure aligns with some of the lowest annual totals of human cases ever reported, following 14 cases in 2024 and 13 cases in 2022. When The Carter Center assumed leadership of the global Guinea Worm Eradication Program in 1986, an estimated 3.5 million human cases occurred annually in 21 countries in Africa and Asia.

Together with partners — including the countries themselves — the campaign has reduced the disease by more than 99.99% and averted more than 100 million cases of this devasting disease among the world’s most marginalized and neglected populations.

Eight of the 14 provisional human cases reported in 2024 occurred in Chad; the other six were in South Sudan. Angola, Cameroon, Ethiopia, and Mali reported zero human cases. A small number of 2024 specimens are waiting to be processed. If testing confirms they are Guinea worms, interventions will be further intensified, investigations will continue to identify case origins, and the provisional case total will be adjusted.