The Carter Center could win a $100 million grant to help it in its fight against a disease it is trying to eliminate.
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has named The Carter Center as one of eight semi-finalists, out of 1,904 proposals, in a competition for $100 million to solve a critical problem for our time.
The Carter Center has been a leading voice and world coordinator in the battle against river blindness, one of several diseases scientists believe can be wiped from the face of the earth. The center proposed using the $100 million to finish the job in Nigeria, the country where the disease is most endemic.
About 50 million people in Nigeria are infected with or at risk of the disease, caused by a parasite and spread by the bite of black flies.
River blindness causes devastating socio-economic impacts, resulting in food insecurity, lack of education for children who must care for blinded parents, intergenerational poverty and social stigma.
Thanks to the Carter Center’s leadership under President Jimmy Carter and Dr. Frank Richards, river blindness has been nearly eliminated in Central and South America. The center hopes to use the same successful strategy of administering the drug ivermectin, donated by Merck, to finish the disease in Nigeria.
Read about what inspired Dr. Frank Richards to join the fight against river blindness here.
The center is competing against seven other proposals for the $100 million from the MacArthur Foundation’s 100&Change program.
“These eight ambitious proposals exemplify the passion, range, and creativity of the hundreds of applications,” said MacArthur President Julia Stasch. “We hope that the competition inspires individuals and organizations to be bold and think big, because solutions are possible.”
The other proposals are:
• Catholic Relief Services: Changing how society cares for children in orphanages
• Himalayan Cataract: Eliminating needless blindness in Nepal, Ethiopia, and Ghana
• Human Diagnosis Project: Providing virtual access to specialist medical care for underserved U.S. patients
• HarvestPlus: Eliminating hidden hunger in Africa by fortifying staple crops
• Internet Archive: Providing libraries and learners free digital access to four million books
• Sesame Workshop and International Rescue Committee: Educating children displaced by conflict and persecution
• Rice University: Improving newborn survival in Africa
MacArthur’s Board will select up to five finalists in September. Finalists will present their proposals during a live event on December 11, 2017, before the Board names a single recipient to receive $100 million over up to six years.
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