It is led by the South Sudan Guinea Worm Eradication Program.

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"The cease-fire enabled us to conduct disease surveillance with the freedom of movement, not fearing land mines and getting shot, " said Dr. Nabil Azziz, who coordinated Sudan's national Guinea worm eradication program until 2007.

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The program in Mali, however, has not been able to operate fully, or at all, in areas occupied by rebel groups, said Ernesto Ruiz-Tiben, director of the Guinea Worm Eradication Program at the Carter Center.

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