The WHO Executive Board today welcomed The Carter Center, Inc. and NCD Alliance to establish official relations with WHO.
The new status, which will be ratified at the World Health Assembly in May, allows these valued partner organizations to participate more directly in WHO processes; they can participate in the sessions of the WHO governing bodies, propose agenda items and organize side events as a non-state actor.
The Carter Center is a WHO partner and a recognized pioneer in the fight against neglected tropical diseases. From 1981 to 2011, the World Health Assembly adopted several resolutions in support of the eradication of dracunculiasis.Since 1986, the Carter Center has worked with WHO and other partners to eliminate Guinea worm disease (dracunculiasis).
So far, the collaboration has reduced the annual incidence of the disabling parasitic infection from an estimated 3.5 million cases in 1986 to just 15 cases in 2021.
Founded by former US President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter in association with Atlanta-based Emory University, The Carter Center is also widely recognized for advocating for mental health. At the 75th World Health Assembly in 2021, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus presented Rosalynn Carter with the Global Health Award to recognize her lifetime achievement in addressing health issues. mental health.
“Thanks to the support and partnership of the Carter Center for more than 35 years, Guinea worm disease has been on the brink of eradication,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “Establishing official relations is a natural extension of our long collaboration. We look forward to continuing and deepening our joint work on neglected tropical diseases and noncommunicable diseases.”
The NCD Alliance, founded in 2009, is a global civil society movement spanning more than 80 countries addressing common health risk factors such as air pollution, physical inactivity, unhealthy diets, and drug use. alcohol and tobacco, and seeks solutions for cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic lung disease, diabetes, neurological and mental health disorders, and other noncommunicable diseases.