Oppressed by war and poverty for generations, the Sudanese have struggled with terrible hardships. But the people of this vast country have a narrow window of hope to achieve progress by ridding both their nation and the world of a horrible disease forever.

With support from The Carter Center and others in one small targeted area where cases remain, Sudan - the last stand for Guinea worm disease - could quickly eliminate this parasitic infection contracted from contaminated drinking water.

Guinea worm victims endure the horror of a thin worm, up to 3 feet (1 meter) long, emerging slowly through a burning blister in their skin over the course of about a month after the parasite has incubated inside them for a year. This can be stopped by educating people to filter all drinking water and to stay out of water sources when they have a worm emerging to keep it from discharging new larvae back into the water.