Guinea Worm

Guinea Worm
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Guinea Worm
There have been global attempts to eliminate the guinea worm disease since 1986 (World Health Organization, 2018). The disease which is only transmitted by drinking contaminated water is possible to eradicate. Its eradication measures are easy and cost-effective. There has also been a lot of political goodwill on its eradication. However, this eradication was not achieved until many years later. Although guinea worm disease took a long time to eradicate, there had been a lot of consistent gains made across the globe.
Despite the progress made in eradicating guinea worm disease, a lot of skepticism existed. One of the reasons for the skepticism was that it had taken much longer than it was previously estimated. There had also been cases of re-emergence of the disease in countries like Chad where it had not been reported for years (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017). People, therefore, thought that there was a possibility of the disease being reported again even in places that had been declared guinea worm free. There was also a lot of skepticism due to the evident risks that had not been mitigated. For instance, there were many places across the world where people lacked access to safe drinking water. People remained skeptical of the eradication of guinea worm until the challenge of access to safe drinking water was addressed in various parts across the globe.
Guinea Worm disease continued to be prevalent for a long time due to various reasons including the lack of safe drinking water in different parts of the world.

The condition was also not prioritized by public health administration of multiple countries. Additionally, there was inadequate donor support for remote and conflict areas where the disease was most prevalent. Societal barriers also hindered the eradication of the disease and contributed to the disease remaining prevalent.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017, February 21). CDC – Guinea Worm Disease – Eradication Program. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/guineaworm/gwep.html
World Health Organization. (2018). the global eradication campaign. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/dracunculiasis/eradication/en/