Good News Network · 5 days ago

Guinea Worm Disease Reaches All-Time Low: Only 10 Human Cases Reported in 2025

When Jimmy Carter launched the global campaign against Guinea worm disease in 1986, 3.5 million people suffered from the parasite each year; in 2025, only ten cases were reported worldwide. The reduction of more than 99.99% brings humanity to the threshold of eradicating only its second disease ever-this time without a vaccine or medicine, relying instead on community volunteers and behavior change among the world's most marginalized populations. "Every case is a real person we know by name," says Adam Weiss of the Carter Center, capturing both the intimacy of the final push and the weight of what remains. The milestone arrives one year after Carter's passing, in the fortieth year of his commitment to a disease most of the world had forgotten.