Imagine a nation almost half the size of the United Stateswhere large portions of the

population are sick—not with justone disease but several at once.Such is the daily reality for thoseliving in Nigeria, a nation with one of the highest burdens of disease in Africa.

Working in Nigeria since1988, The Carter Center has pioneered a model for health caredelivery in partnership with thenational Ministry of Health andtwo state ministries of health thatattempts to answer this need byintegrating delivery of treatmentsfor several endemic diseases —riverblindness, lymphatic filariasis,schistosomiasis, and trachoma.

Many of these illnesses,although not fatal, are extremelydebilitating because they inflictpermanent damage, such as blind-ness, abnormal development in children, or painful swelling of extremities. Com-munities in rural and remote areas areoften least able to break the prevalentcycle of poverty caused, in part, by theirlimited access to disease treatment andhealth education.

Yet, efforts by the Center and the ministries of health to integrate medicaltreatment and delivery systems for severaldiseases at once are raising hopes for ahealthier future for millions of Nigerians.

Recognizing the success of relativelysimple and inexpensive intervention methods in Nigeria’s Guinea worm eradi-cation effort, the ministries of health welcomed the possibility of leveraging theresulting health care delivery infrastructureto tackle more diseases.

“The Carter Center focuses on often-overlooked diseases, applying simple strategies and effective medicines that willdramatically improve the quality of life for endemic communities. These also arediseases that people working in their owncommunities can control or eliminatethemselves,” says Dr. Frank Richards, technical director of the Carter Center’sriver blindness, schistosomiasis, and lymphatic filariasis programs.

Including several interventions at eachvisit is not only a matter of efficiency butalso of ethics. “Health program workers visiting endemic villages for one diseaseoften are asked what could be done aboutother diseases. It is shortsighted to be in a village giving medicine only for schisto-somiasis when it is possible also to treat

Innovative Approach to DiseaseControl Multiplies Results

THECARTER CENTER

THECARTERCENTER

NEWSSPRING 2005

One Copenhill453 Freedom ParkwayAtlanta, GA 30307

(404) 420-5100www.cartercenter.org

IN THIS ISSUEUP FRONT

Innovative Approach Multiplies Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

From the Executive Director . . . . . . . . .2Profile: Dr. Thom Bornemann . . . . . . .3

PEACEMozambican Elections Face Challenges 4Chinese Officials Observe U.S. Voting .5Palestinian Election Sets Example for

Arab Democracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

HEALTHGates Foundation Offers Challenge . . .8Lions Make River Blindness Pledge . . .9Ethiopia Public Health Training

Initiative Brings Hope . . . . . . . . . . .10

PHILANTHROPYWinter Weekend Bidders Help

Advance Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . .11Ambassadors Circle and Legacy Circle

Donors Hear Center Updates . . . . .11

NEWS BRIEFSPresident Carter Addresses OAS . . . .12Exhibit Features Handwork . . . . . . . . .12Report on Venezuela Available . . . . . .12

The Carter Center observeddemocracy in action as historicelections occurred in thePalestinian Territories andMozambique. Chinese electionofficials, meanwhile, watchedvoting in the United States tosee what procedures they couldadapt. Read more on pp. 4-7.

A Nigerian mother washes her daughter’s face.Improved hygiene can help prevent trachoma, a bacterial eye infection.

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UP FRONT

Disease, cont.continued from cover page

lymphatic filariasis. Some children needmedicine for both,” says Richards.

Some drugs can treat more than onedisease, such as Mectizan®, which treatsriver blindness and when combined with albendazole also prevents lymphatic

filariasis. Health education to prevent trachoma by proper hygiene promotes personal habits that can prevent infectionsfrom other diseases. Distribution of bednets to prevent lymphatic filariasis alsohelps to prevent malaria.

Integration of these vital health interventions means The Carter Centerand others can do more despite the many

physical obstacles and limited resources disease control programs face. This furtherdevelopment of disease surveillance andhealth care delivery systems also improvesnations’ capacities to sustain key health treat-ments to their populations over the long term.

Most importantly, some of the world’smost forgotten people will suffer no longerfrom forgotten diseases.

From the Executive Director

The election of John Moores as the Carter Center’s new chairmanof the Board of Trustees this

March, reported in the media, marked

the latest step in a transition process forthe long-term governance of the Centerput in place by President and Mrs. Carterand the board during the last decade.

Mr. Moores has been actively engagedat the Center as a member of the boardsince 1994. A successful San Diego busi-nessman, owner of the San Diego Padres,and recent chairman of the CaliforniaBoard of Regents, he first became involvedwith the Center through his philanthropyto prevent river blindness. Since then, hehas traveled to Center projects worldwide,becoming engaged in the full range of ourwork in peace and health.

President and Mrs. Carter have uniqueroles at the Center and around the world.Their broad-based vision of human rightsand compassion for the world’s neediestpeople are embodied in every facet of theCenter’s work and will be their legacy atThe Carter Center for generations to come.

Although they have stepped down aschair and vice chair of the board, they

remain as permanent trustees, and theirgood health and stamina promise that theywill be engaged in Center activities formany years to come. This year, the Cartersplan to lead election missions to Ethiopia,the Palestinian territories, and Liberia; host conferences on mental health andhuman rights; and assess our health programs on the ground in Africa as well as continue fund-raising activities for theCenter’s work.

Other strategic steps at the Center also have strengthened our base for thefuture: a strong partnership with EmoryUniversity, the success of our recent campaign to add $150 million to theCenter’s endowment, the assembly of ahighly skilled staff of professionals who lead and implement the Center’s work, and a solid track record of achievement.

With this strong foundation, andworking together with our partners around the world, the Center will continue to wage peace, fight disease, and build hope for suffering people indefinitely into the future.Dr. John Hardman

Dr. Frank Richards talks with a 30-year-old man who suffers from lymphatic filariasis. The Carter Center, in partner-ship with the national program, works inNigeria’s Plateau and Nasarawa states.

River blindness often affects many in onevillage. In the village of Cambre, thechief’s vision improved after takingMectizan, and he quickly spread the word to other villagers.

This boy from Kwa’al village waits toreceive his praziquantel tablets. Nigeria isthe most schistosomiasis-endemic countryin Africa.

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Although the words “reduce stigma”do not appear in the name of anyinitiatives of the Mental Health

Program Thom Bornemann directs, theconcept is embodied in virtually everythingthe program does.

“Mental disorders are among the mostprevalent of all health conditions,” said Dr.Bornemann. “We have effective treatmentsavailable, but the vast majority of peoplewho need treatments do not get them, inpart because our system distinguishesbetween physical and mental illnesses.That we separate the brain from the rest of the organism is folly, and yet we’veorganized our health care system that way.”

Reducing the stigma against mental illnesses in many ways, including increasedaccess to care, is a cause Dr. Bornemann haspursued throughout his career—from earlywork in a psychiatric emergency clinic in San Francisco to developing a nationalmental health program for refugees.Acutely interested in finding ways to applyresearch to clinical practice and integratemental health into the larger public health

policy arena, Dr. Bornemann found joiningthe Center in 2002 a natural evolution for him.

“Our field, not unlike other fields,includes competing interests,” said Dr.Bornemann. “A policy-maker may be mostinterested in the efficiency and effective-ness of programs, whereas a consumer ofmental health services may be interested in housing, a decent wage, and the oppor-tunity to rejoin his or her community. TheCarter Center’s program is recognized as anhonest, fair-minded broker, working wellwith a host of constituents to promote resolution and action.”

The program brings government policy-makers, academics,advocates, and consumerstogether through the annualRosalynn Carter Symposiumon Mental Health Policy,now in its 20th year. “Weoffer a rare opportunity forleadership from all sectors of the community to cometogether on an issue ofnational concern, such asthe need to transform men-tal health care for families and children,” saidBornemann. “In recentyears, we’ve conducted follow-up studies to identifyactions symposium partici-pants have taken to make

concrete progress. We try to go beyond professional meetings where people net-work and then resume business as usual,because we’re in a field where business asusual is not acceptable.”

Dr. Bornemann and his staff also workwith Georgia mental health organizationsto produce a yearly state-level forum,which will focus in May 2005 on Georgia’smove to managed care in the taxpayer-

UP FRONT

Profile: Dr. Thom Bornemann

Director Sees Need to Integrate MentalHealth Into Health Care System

funded Medicaid program. An even broader avenue for making gains is the fellowship program for mental health journalism. “The anti-stigma message wasreally the impetus for the program, whichencourages journalists to report more accurately about mental illnesses, reducingstereotypical information and developing a better-informed media and public,” Dr. Bornemann said. Results have beentangible. For example, one fellow produceda series of articles on the Oregon mentalhealth system that led to legislative action.

“Since Mrs. Carter began her work in mental health, wehave moved from a focus on

lessening symptoms to a concept of recovery. Her impact

in this field has been deep and constant.”

—Thom Bornemann

“There’s not a country on this planetthat doesn’t have tremendous difficultieswith stigma, often leading to profoundforms of discrimination against people andfamilies of people with mental disorders,”said Dr. Bornemann. “If we at The Carter Center can help the mental healthcommunity in this country become moreeffective and are able to communicate thatsuccess to our colleagues around the worldand learn from them as well, we can helppeople get back on their feet to rejoin thework force, start leading more enrichedlives, and have relationships again in communities and with their families.”

Dr. Thom Bornemann, who joined the Center in 2002,said the Center’s success in bringing together the mentalhealth community can help those with mental disordersrejoin their families and jobs.

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PEACE

In December, The Carter Center moni-tored the presidential and legislativeelections in Mozambique, supporting

the southeast African nation as it looks toa better future since ending a brutal civilwar in 1992.

The Center’s observers, led by formerU.S. President Jimmy Carter, his wife,Rosalynn, and former Benin PresidentNicéphore Soglo, reported most of the1,000 polling stations they visited to bewell-organized, fully staffed with poll work-ers and election materials, and functioningeffectively. Voter turnout, though, was low, with fewer than 40 percent of eligiblevoters casting a ballot during the Dec. 1-2,2004, elections.

Also of concern were significant procedural irregularities during the

tabulation of results. The electoral authorities were inadequately preparedwith computer software and never releaseda final list of polling stations, making it difficult to independently confirm officialresults. When the preliminary results werereleased after the legally required deadline,several formal petitions were lodged withthe constitutional council. Although the council shared some of these concerns, the petitions were rejected, and the irregularities were deemed insufficient to alter the overall presidential electionresult. Ruling party Frelimopresidential candidate ArmandoGuebuza received 63 percent of the vote, trailed by Renamoparty leader Afonso Dhlakamawith 32 percent. Dhlakama’s

Mozambican Elections FaceChallenges in Years Ahead

party has rejected the results, leavingMozambique’s democracy facing a moreuncertain future than anticipated.

“Mozambique has achieved notablesuccess in rebuilding its economy since theend of the war and holding regular multi-party elections,” said Dr. David Pottie, senior program associate of the DemocracyProgram. “The Center observed electionsin 1999, 2003, and 2004, and whileMozambique is to be congratulated for theachievement of a peaceful voting process,persistent and serious problems with thevoter register and tabulation of votes mustbe addressed to ensure that voter choice isreflected in credible, final results.”

A poll worker signs the registration paper of an election observer showing the sites she visited.

Carter Center Executive Director JohnHardman and former Benin PresidentNicéphore Soglo note low voter turnout at one of the polling sites they observed.

Mozambique field office representativeNicolás Bravo records a poll location onhis observation forms.

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Election officials in China providegreat customer service: They bringthe ballot box to voters’ homes after

dinner to ensure a turnout of at least 51percent. But as Chinese citizens becomemore politically engaged, election officialswill have to look at instituting other prac-tices, such as requiring ballots to be cast atpolling sites, much as other countries do.

Voting procedures were just one of arange of items 35 election officials fromChina’s National People’s Congress andMinistry of Civil Affairs observed on Election Day in Atlanta and Chattanooga,Tenn., Nov. 2. The group was hosted byThe Carter Center.

While China is still a one-party system, the central government begandirect village elections in 1988 to helpmaintain social and political order in thecontext of rapid economic reforms. Thesuccess of village elections has led to direct township and county elections. The increased voter participation has highlighted some deficiencies of China’selection law, which the National People’sCongress has begun to amend.

“Our visitors observed voter registration,voting, ballot counting, and verificationprocedures to see if some of the measurescould be adopted in China,” said Dr. YaweiLiu, associate director of the Center’sChina Village Elections Project. “They alsoexamined local campaigning, which hasbecome a central issue in village elections.”

Several of the Chinese observers were surprised at how orderly U.S. ElectionDay was.

“Voters wait patiently in line,” saidJinhua Wang, who works in Beijing and is responsible for national coordination ofvillage elections. “There was a big crowd, a long line, and no one gets impatient.”

Elections in China are quite different,explained Baiyu Tang, an election officialfrom central China’s Hunan province.Polling sites are decorated and dancegroups perform—all in an effort to attract

Chinese Officials Observe Voting in United States

Poll manager Joe Buckner explains voting procedures to Chinese election officials. Theofficials were surprised at the high turnout in the United States, something not seen inmany Chinese villages.

enough voters to legitimize an election. “Here you just open a school and

people come,” she said. At local party headquarters, the

Chinese officials learned how U.S. candidates campaign. The Chinese do not use the word “campaign,” but rather“introduction.” Introductions of candidatesmust be organized—and therefore moni-tored—by election officials. In somerecent elections, candidates began to campaign independently, catching officialsby surprise, Dr. Liu said. Many Chineseelection officials have said if the currentelection law is not revised significantly,competition will be stifled.

The Center’s election project providesassistance to local election officials toincrease the openness and competitivenessof village and local People’s Congressdeputy elections. In addition to hostingdelegations in the United States, Dr. Liuhas observed village-, township-, and county-level elections in China.

“There are many ways The CarterCenter has helped us,” Wang said. “TheCenter is helping us to promote our elections among voters. The Center alsosends an observer mission to China everyyear and makes recommendations to us.The exchange between China and theUnited States is very important.”

Dr. Yawei Liu of the Center’s ChinaVillage Elections Project explains howcandidates are listed on a paper ballot at a polling site in Douglasville, Ga.Paper ballots are provided to voters as an example of what they will see on the touch-screen computers.

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Carter Center experts Matthew Hodes,director of the Conflict Resolution

Program, and Dr. David Carroll of theDemocracy Program were members of the observer delegation to the Palestinianelection, which was jointly organized byThe Carter Center and the NationalDemocratic Institute.

What role did observers play at thePalestinian election? Carroll: The main purposes of internationalobservation are to provide an independentassessment of the quality of an electoralprocess and to demonstrate the support ofthe international community. The presenceof impartial and respected observer groups

helps build confidence that the process is conducted transparently and withoutinterference. In the West Bank and Gaza, reports by NDI and Carter Centerobservers confirmed the election wentsmoothly and without significant problems,in spite of the difficult conditions arisingfrom occupation and ongoing conflict. In East Jerusalem well before polls closed,we brought to the attention of electoralauthorities administrative problems preventing people from voting, and they addressed the problems.

Has significant progress been madetoward Palestinian self-governance? Carroll: Yasser Arafat’s death provided anopportunity for a new era of democratic

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carterand The Carter Center witnessed a new era in Palestinian politics

when they observed the Jan. 9 election ofMahmoud Abbas, an election many hopewill create new opportunities for peace inthe Middle East.

”The death of Yasser Arafat and theswift transition to new leadership haverevived Palestinians’ optimism about afuture peace process,” President Carter said. “The election sets an important example of the potential for democracy in the Arab world.”

President Carter, former New JerseyGovernor Christine Todd Whitman, andformer Sweden Prime Minister Carl Bildtled a delegation of 80 observers organizedby the National Democratic Institute tothe West Bank and Gaza. Overall, the delegation found the election to be orderly,well-administered, and with few incidentsof violence. However, the election was tarnished by the fact that the Palestiniansecurity apparatus and elements of thePalestinian Authority pressured theCentral Election Commission to

announce several last-minute changeson Election Day to extend voting andincrease turnout.

“The election sets an importantexample of the potential for

democracy in the Arab world.”—Jimmy Carter

Center observers visited sites inboth the West Bank and East Jerusalem,where a small number of eligiblePalestinians living there were assignedto vote at the post offices. The Israeligovernment wanted voting in EastJerusalem to take place at post offices inorder to consider it as similar to castingabsentee ballots, with the sites adminis-tered by Israeli postal officials.

“The post office polling sites wereof particular concern to Carter Centerand NDI observers because of the

Palestinian Election Renews Opportunity forDemocracy and Peace in the Middle East

A Closer Look at the Palestinian Election

Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt andPresident Carter listen to their translator whileobserving voting at a Jerusalem polling site.

A poll worker inks the thumb of a voter to show he has voted. Voters’ hands arechecked for ink before they are allowed tovote to ensure anyone voting is doing sofor the first time.

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political sensitivity surrounding EastJerusalem and because problems occurredat post office sites in the 1996 elections,”said Dr. David Carroll, acting director ofthe Center’s Democracy Program. “Whenwe arrived at the post office stations in themorning, it was immediately evident thatmost voters were not on the registry andwere being turned away.”

leadership and governance for thePalestinian people. While the 1996 elections, which The Carter Centerobserved, were a milestone in movingtoward democracy, the 2005 election tookplace in a dramatically different context.The field of candidates was competitive,and the elections provided Palestinianswith an opportunity to select new leaders,who they intend to hold accountable on a range of concerns. The successful presidential election sets the stage for the important upcoming elections for thePalestinian Legislative Council and foradditional municipal elections scheduled to take place this year. If completed successfully, this cycle of elections willyield new political leadership, reflectingbroad participation among Palestinians and with full potential for independentself-government.

What does this election mean todemocracy in the region? Carroll: The election shows Arab peoplesand leaders that citizens’ yearnings fordemocracy can and should be met and thatdemocratic renewal strengthens politicallegitimacy. Many people see the election as an opportunity for a new leader torecommit to the peace process and makereal progress in negotiations with Israel.

Is there renewed optimism in theprocess to achieve peace between the Israelis and Palestinians? Hodes: Polling data suggest a majority ofPalestinians are optimistic in this regard, a one-third increase over data obtainedbefore Arafat’s death. The election meansto Palestinians that the new president is

now an elected politician whose successwill be measured by what he delivers to hisconstituents. They are anxious to see whathe can do.

How has recent violence impacted the peace process? Hodes: Violence since the election hasonly served to galvanize the new president,Mahmoud Abbas, to move quickly to tryand consolidate his security services andshow his seriousness in trying to combatviolence. He is already trying to talk togroups that have used violence, such asHamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, andthe Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, to reachagreements on long-term cease-fires thatmay provide the necessary room to pursue a revival of the peace process.

Mahmoud Abbas was elected

president of the Palestinian

Authority, January 2005.

President Carter helped the Israeli officials and the Palestinians reach a

compromise: Any Palestinian living in East Jerusalem could vote at any of the sixsites with proper registration documents,provided foreign observers selected by thePalestinians recorded the names.

A Palestinian woman casts her ballot in the West Bank.

An election official checks a voter’s identification against the list of voters at apost office polling site in East Jerusalem.

The Carter Center’s Guinea wormdisease eradication effort saw a 50percent reduction in cases during

2004—the largest percentage drop in a single year since the program began.With a fraction of 1 percent of the diseaseremaining, Guinea worm is poised tobecome the first parasitic disease eradicatedin human history.

Building on this momentum, in Aprilthe Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

pledged $25 million to expedite the fightagainst this debilitating disease. With anoutright $5 million contribution this year,the Gates Foundation challenged theCenter to raise an additional $20 million—$5 million each year for the next fouryears, which the foundation will matchdollar for dollar. The government ofCanada, through the CanadianInternational Development Agency pledging $5 million over five years, and

the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, pledging $1 million over four years, werethe first to respond to the Gates challenge.When the challenge is complete, a total of$45 million will have been raised to helpconclude the Center’s Guinea WormEradication Program.

“Guinea worm disease eradication is an investment—

an economic, domestic, international, and

human investment.”—Jimmy Carter

“The energy building in the field andthe support of the Gates Foundation bringa sense of real immediacy and opportunityto our goal of eradicating Guinea worm disease. We began with an estimated 3.5million cases in 1986. Today, there areapproximately 16,000 cases. But these lastcases will be the most difficult and costly to eradicate. Maintaining high-quality surveillance and immediate response willcontinue to be huge challenges,” said Dr.Donald Hopkins, Carter Center associateexecutive director for health programs.

Another impetus for success is the historic peace agreement signed between

Guinea Worm Disease Eradication CampaignBuilds on Extraordinary OpportunitiesGates Foundation Offers Challenge

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HEALTH

A waterborne parasite, Guinea worm disease is contracted when people drink contaminated water. Inside the abdomen, Guinea worm larvae can mature and growinto threadlike worms as long as three feet. The slow, painful emergence of the matureworm through a blister in the skin interrupts family and community life, keeping children from school and farmers from their fields.

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To participate in this historic effort,Your support will be matched dollar for dollar

9

HEALTH

To date, nine countries have stopped Guinea worm disease transmission: Uganda,2003; Central African Republic, 2001; Chad, 1998; Cameroon, 1997; Yemen, 1997;Senegal, 1997; India, 1996; Kenya, 1994; Pakistan, 1993.

The Lions Clubs InternationalFoundation has pledged $2 millionto The Carter Center to help elimi-

nate river blindness (onchocerciasis) fromthe Americas by the end of the decade.

The Lions’ contribution will bematched on a dollar-for-dollar basis by theBill & Melinda Gates Foundation, whichpledged $10 million, including a $5 millionchallenge grant, in 2003 to encourageenough financial support to halt transmis-sion of the disease in the Americas by theend of this decade. The Gates Foundationalso will match a recent $1 million pledge from Merck & Co., Inc.

In Latin America and Africa, LionsClubs provide an army of local volunteerswho, in conjunction with The CarterCenter and ministries of health, hold workshops for policy-makers and com-munity leaders, help monitor distributionof medication, and encourage local governments to contribute to efforts toeliminate river blindness. Through the

foundation’s SightFirst program, Lions has granted The Carter Center more than$20 million to prevent river blindness andtrachoma worldwide.

The Carter Center sponsors theOnchocerciasis Elimination Program for the Americas, whose partnershipincludes Lions, the Pan American HealthOrganization, and the ministries of healthof the six affected countries of LatinAmerica: Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador,Guatemala, Mexico, and Venezuela.

In 2004, OEPA delivered more than850,000 treatments of Mectizan, a safe and effective oral tablet donated by Merck& Co., reaching more than 85 percent of the people at risk for contractingonchocerciasis. Maintaining at least 85 percent treatment coverage is necessaryto eliminate the disease from the region.

Of the $5 million required to completethe Gates challenge, only $1 million inmatching funds still needs to be raised.

Lions Close Gap in River Blindness Challenge

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000

7,275 (7)7,266 (0)

495 (0)357 (3)

278 (46)240 (7)

60 (25)21 (1)17 (14)3 (0)3 (0)

NigeriaMaliTogo

GhanaSudan

NigerBurkina FasoCote d’Ivoire

EthiopiaBenin

Mauritania

• Kenya and Uganda have both stopped indigenous transmission. However, in 2004, Kenya reported 7 cases imported from Sudan, and Uganda reported 4 cases imported from Sudan. These cases are included in the 16,026 cases reported during 2004.

Note:

• Numbers in parentheses indicate how many of the country’s total cases were imported from another country.

This Guatemalan man has impairedvision, an early symptom of river blind-ness. He works on a coffee plantationdivided by a fast-flowing river where thousands of black flies breed and transmit the disease.

northern and southern Sudan in January.“Now the program will have unprece-dented access to previously inaccessibleareas in Sudan, which have many of theremaining cases of Guinea worm disease,”Dr. Hopkins said.

Approximately 16,000 cases of Guinea worm remain

in the world.

So far, the new year has shownextraordinary opportunities to reduce cases, with improved funding and increased awareness bringing high hopesthat 2005 will be a pivotal year for Guinea worm eradication.

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visit www.cartercenter.org.

DISTRIBUTION BY COUNTRY OF 16,026 CASESOF DRACUNCULIASIS REPORTED DURING 2004

Number of Cases

by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

In Ethiopia, a nation where less thanhalf of the population has access to modern medicine, a partnership

among The Carter Center, the Ethiopianministries of education and health, andseven national universities and colleges is changing a desperate situation into alegacy of hope.

“Ethiopians now have reason tobelieve their community coalitions andingenuity can have far greater impact thanforeign aid or relief work ever could,” saysDr. Hailu Yeneneh, resident technicaladviser of the Carter Center’s EthiopiaPublic Health Training Initiative.

Since 1991, upon invitation fromPrime Minister Meles Zenawi, The CarterCenter has provided vital support and

technical expertise for the Ethiopian government’s plan to expand modernhealth care to millions of villagers locatedin rural communities.

Through the initiative, The CarterCenter and seven Ethiopian universitieswork to strengthen the teaching of health

science faculty, develop health-relatedteaching and learning materials, andimprove learning environments.

Ethiopian teachers work side by sidewith international experts to develop curricula and learning materials thatemphasize local experience. These materials are used to train health students,who, in turn, train and manage communityhealth workers.

By establishing more than 600 ruralhealth centers, the Ethiopian governmentis striving to dramatically increase healthdelivery for 90 percent of Ethiopians.

The initiative’s work was truly put to the test in 2002 when a drought threat-ened the lives of 14 million Ethiopians.Although severe droughts are a recurringproblem in Ethiopia, it had been decadessince university communities had gone out to serve the rural areas in response todisasters, explained Dr. Hailu.

Yet, thanks to the expertise and leadership of Dr. Hailu and other programworkers, the Center’s Ethiopia PublicHealth Training Initiative was in a uniqueposition to avert disaster. The use of theinitiative’s intervention models enabled aquick response to drought-related healthand nutritional problems and facilitatedthe deployment of more than 2,000 students to rural, drought-afflicted villages.Program participants constructed wells,provided health education, built latrines,gathered data, and administered basichealth care in a targeted response thatchanged the country’s course.

“Ethiopians now have reason to believe their community

coalitions and ingenuity can have far greater impact.”

—Dr. Hailu Yeneneh

“Individual teachers whom we hadseen give up on their professions are nowimpassioned and invigorated to shareknowledge with the next generation. Andstudents who had watched the anguish oftheir fellow citizens helplessly and hope-lessly from afar are now, for the first time,experiencing the empowerment that comeswith contributing to the alleviation of suffering,” said Dr. Hailu. “We all learned a lot about ourselves and our country.”

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HEALTH

Dr. Hailu Yeneneh, resident technical adviser for the EthiopiaPublic Health Training Initiative, began his career 35 yearsago as a grassroots health officer in the Ethiopian government’sGlobal Health Center. Now, after earning a medical degree anda doctorate, teaching, researching, and directing a researchinstitution, Dr. Hailu says he finds himself back on the frontlines, “chipping in whatever I can to advance public health in Ethiopia.”

Ethiopia Public Health Training EquipsFuture Generations, Reaches Rural Areas

More than 85 percent of Ethiopians live in rural areas, and life expectancy in the country is 41 years.

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Carter Center Ambassadors Circleand Legacy Circle members gathered in Atlanta April 14-15

to attend an informative, inspirationalmeeting with President and Mrs. Carterand experts throughout the Center.

Activities included special briefings by the Center’s peace and health programstaff on systems of mental health care forchildren, the status of the Guinea wormeradication campaign, a project with theUnited Nations to establish standards forobserving elections, and the plights ofhuman rights defenders, among others.

Eric and Mary Weinmann ofWashington, D.C., Center donors since1994, are members of both theAmbassadors Circle and The Carter LegacyCircle. “The work of the Center is veryimportant to us,” said Mrs. Weinmann.“When I look at photographs of electionmonitoring in Venezuela, the Middle East,and Mozambique, I find it exciting for all of us—for the whole world—that The

Carter Center friends and supportersparticipated in the 13th annualWinter Weekend live and silent

auctions held Feb.12 in Snowbird, Utah.The silent auction set two new records,raising a record $42,936 with more onlinebidders winning valuable collectibles than ever before. Together, the auctionsraised $875,036 to advance the Center’swork in waging peace and fighting disease worldwide.

The highest bids were $200,000 forPresident Carter’s oil painting of the CarterCenter grounds; $77,500 for a signed photoof Presidents Clinton, Ford, Carter, andBush; $75,000 for another signed photo of those same presidents; $45,000 for a

PHILANTHROPY

Ambassadors Circle and Legacy Circle Donors Hear Updates

Winter Weekend Auction BiddersHelp Advance Peace and Health

Carter Center seeks solutions and faceschallenges by taking action.”

“I particularly remember an earlierpresentation about pipe filters,” said Mr. Weinmann. “This simple and practicaldesign is a superb example of the way in which the Center has put an idea into action to help eradicate Guinea worm disease.”

Sandy Libby and John Rendon purchaseda print of President Carter’s painting“Our Mountain Home.”

Brent Slay, President Carter, DianneSlay, and Brett Brinker celebrate Brent’spurchase of two signed guitars.

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Mr. and Mrs. Eric Weinmann attend the2005 Ambassadors Circle and LegacyCircle meeting in Atlanta.

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Founded in 1997 by President andMrs. Carter, the Ambassadors Circle recognizes the vision and generosity ofindividuals who support the CarterCenter’s operations and program needswith unrestricted gifts of $1,000 or moreannually. The Carter Legacy Circle honorsthose who provide for the future of theCenter’s work through planned gifts, such as a bequest in their will, charitablegift annuities, trusts, or other deferred giving instruments.

Ambassadors Circle and LegacyCircle members traveled to Plains

to visit President and Mrs.Carter’s hometown.

For more information aboutAmbassadors Circle, please call SeemaShams at (800) 550-3560, ext. 134. ForLegacy Circle, contact Rhonda Schultz at (800) 550-3560, ext. 868.

weeklong cruise on a 152-foot luxury yacht;and $40,000 for a diamond cross pendant.A complete list of all the winning bids ison www.cartercenter.org. Winter Weekendis a relaxing, by-invitation event with theCarters for existing Center donors.

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Former U.S. President Jimmy Cartercalled on leaders and citizens of the

Western Hemisphere to strengthen theOAS Inter-American Democratic Charterin a keynote speech Jan. 25 of the inauguralLecture Series of the Americas at the Organization of American States in Washington.

The charter—approved by the OAS on Sept. 11, 2001—provides anopportunity for member countries to takeresponsibility for regional democracy butdoes not spell out specific responses to be taken when there is an interruption of democracy.

The charter rarely has been invoked by the OAS or a sitting president. TheCarter Center, concerned that in recentyears several presidents in the WesternHemisphere have failed to finish theirterms, is forming a group to promote better use of the charter.

One of China’s greatest artistic traditions, the embroideries of

NEWS BRIEFS

The Carter Center released its finalreport Feb. 25 on its observation

mission for the Aug. 15, 2004, presidentialrecall referendum in Venezuela. The report includes a postelection study by an independent panel of statisticians andcomputer security experts, which confirmedearlier conclusions that there was no evidence of fraud. In addition, the Centerreleased a second report, on its peacebuild-ing efforts in Venezuela since June 2002.

Between the 1998 and 2000 Venezuelan elections,

The Carter Center maintained a nearly constant presence in the country and conducted

10 study missions.

From June 2002, the Organization ofAmerican States and The Carter Centerworked with the government and theopposition to help resolve issues betweenthem, including terms for a presidentialrecall referendum. The Center supportedthe efforts of the OAS secretary-general to facilitate dialogue and worked at thehighest political levels as well as inter-mediate social levels toward reconciliationand peaceful resolution of conflicts. After a May 2003 agreement between the government and opposition to work towarda peaceful resolution, the Center, togetherwith the OAS, observed all the steps leading to the referendum, including thecollection of signatures to petition for a referendum, the verification of signatures,and the vote.

The full text of the report is availableat www.cartercenter.org.

President CarterGives Keynote at OAS

Final Report on VenezuelaReferendumReleased; NoFraud Found

Exhibit Features Exquisite HandworkSuzhou, are on displayat the Jimmy CarterLibrary and Museum inAtlanta, Ga., throughJune 11. The 32-piececollection includes colorful landscapes,animals, portraits, andflowers by Gu Wenxia,Grand Master Embroiderer of China, andher protégé, Yu Fuzhen, Grand MasterEmbroiderer of Jiangsu province.

Grand Master Gu developed thedesign for the world-famous double-sided“Kitten Playing With Mantis,” which hasbecome the most popular official gift fromChina to American presidents.

The Carter Presidential Library andMuseum is the sole venue for this showoutside China.

“Right now the charter is vague indefining conditions that would constitute aviolation of the charter,” President Cartersaid. “The charter also requires the consentof the affected government even to evalu-ate a threat to democracy.”

President Carter recommended eightconditions that would constitute an inter-ruption of democracy, including failing tohold elections that do not meet minimalinternational standards, arbitrarily remov-ing members of the judiciary or electoralbodies, and silencing the political opposi-tion, press, or civil society.

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