Sightsavers pays tribute to President Jimmy Carter

Sightsavers expresses its deepest condolences on learning that Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, has died.

President Carter, who died on 29 December, was a staunch advocate for human rights and dignity around the world. Through his work with non-profit organisations The Carter Center and Habitat for Humanity, he helped to improve life for people in more than 80 countries.

Sightsavers has worked alongside President Carter and The Carter Center for many years on programmes to control and eliminate neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). These are a set of debilitating diseases that affect some of the poorest and most marginalised communities worldwide.

Sightsavers CEO Caroline Harper said: “Humility, kindness and humanity are rarely found in such abundance among those who lead. I will never forget the way President Carter made everyone feel part of one team, fighting the injustice of diseases of poverty together. His tenacity, determination and grit in successfully driving out NTDs was inspirational and Sightsavers has been proud to work alongside him in this fight.

“Together we supported Mali to eliminate trachoma in 2023, a phenomenal achievement given the challenges involved in working there. But our relationship went far beyond that to work in, for example, Sudan and South Sudan, which were countries often neglected but were so important to President Carter and the work of The Carter Center. Thanks to his legacy we are now working with The Carter Center to eliminate river blindness and lymphatic filariasis from Africa as part of Reaching the Last Mile, alongside the United Arab Emirates, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other partners. He set an example to the world in so many ways and every time another NTD is vanquished his contribution will be recognised.

“All our thoughts, love and best wishes are with his family and our colleagues and friends at The Carter Center.”