Nigeria's triumph: dracunculiasis eradicated

Abstract

This report describes how Nigeria, a country that at one time had the highest number of cases of dracunculiasis (Guinea worm disease) in the world, reduced the number of cases from more than 653,000 in 1988 to zero in 2009, despite numerous challenges. Village-based volunteers formed the foundation of the program, which used health education, cloth filters, vector control, advocacy for safe water, voluntary isolation of patients, and monitored program interventions and cases reported monthly. Other factors in the program's success were strong governmental support, advocacy by a former head of state of Nigeria, technical and financial assistance by The Carter Center, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United Nations Children's Fund, the World Health Organization, and many other partners and donors. The estimated cost of the Nigerian program during 1988-2009 is $37.5 million, not including funding for water supply projects or salaries of Nigerian governmental workers.

Figure 1.

Nigerian newspaper headline on President Carter's first visit to Nigeria for Guinea worm eradication, March 14, 1988.

Figure 2.

Former Nigerian head of state General (Dr.) Yakubu Gowon addressing a group about Guinea worm eradication.

Figure 3.

Local government areas reporting cases of dracunculiasis in Nigeria.

Figure 4.

Number of cases of dracunculiasis reported by month in Nigeria in 1995, 2000, and 2005.

Figure 5.

Reported indigenous cases of dracunculiasis in Nigeria, 1988–2009.

Figure 6.

Numbers of dracunculiasis cases reported in Nigeria by zone, 2000–2009.