ABU DHABI // Jimmy Carter, a former president of the United States, gave Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed one of 50 limited-edition prints of his painting, White Dove.
The gift was a thank-you for UAE’s help in a campaign by the Carter Centre to eradicate the debilitating Guinea-worm disease. A Dh18.4 million pledge was made to the Carter Centre last year by Sheikh Mohammed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and the UAE was one of the first countries to participate in the campaign, with a financial commitment by the Founding Father, Sheikh Zayed, in 1990.
President Sheikh Khalifa also pledged Dh36.7 million to the Carter Centre in 2012. “For more than two decades, the UAE has been an instrumental partner in the Carter Centre’s global effort to eradicate Guinea-worm disease, an ancient affliction,” said Mary Ann Peters, chief executive of the non-profit organisation.
The Guinea-worm could soon be the second disease after smallpox to be eradicated following public health campaigns, reported Wam, the state news agency. A record of the fight against the disease is on display at an exhibition, Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, at Yas Mall until July 10.
The Carter Centre was founded in 1982 by president Carter and his wife Rosalynn to alleviate human suffering and advance human rights.
rtalwar@thenational.ae
