Ex-President Carter seeks to eliminate malaria in Hispaniola, its last Caribbean outpost
By Greg Bluestein, APWednesday, October 7, 2009
Ex-prez Carter seeks to rid Caribbean of malaria
OUANAMINTHE, Haiti — Former President Jimmy Carter is visiting Haiti and the Dominican Republic to urge their leaders to forge a pact to rid the island of Hispaniola of malaria.
An estimated 30,000 Haitians and several thousand people across the border in the Dominican Republic are infected each year with the mosquito-borne illness. Hispaniola is malaria’s last Caribbean outpost.
Carter will also check the progress of a $200,000 pilot project established by the nonprofit Carter Center that local health officials say has helped curb the spread of the disease in two towns that sit about ten miles apart, on opposite sides of the border.
The program has funded nets treated with insecticide for residents to use, microscopes for lab technicians and motorbikes for field workers.
On the Net:
www.cartercenter.org
