My purpose is to engender discussion on what we do as O.R. professionals and to point to impact projects without any ostensible mathematical programming but otherwise backed by solid methodology and science. I write in my personal capacity, not as the recently appointed editor of the annual Edelman awards annual issue of Interfaces after 19, yes 19, years of the editorship by Stephen Graves.

The supply chain of the affliction called dracunculiasis comprises the guinea worm, humans, worm larvae and water fleas. Dracunculiasis is transmitted to humans through water contaminated with microscopic water fleas that carry guinea worm larvae. A year after getting a human host, adult female worms emerge from the skin, often incapacitating people for a few months. If these worms make contact with water, they expel larvae into the water that the water fleas ingest. During planting season, more than half the population of a given village may be affected [2].

There is no effective vaccine or medicine, but this supply chain can be disrupted by filtering water fleas out of drinking water using finely woven cloth; by educating villagers not to enter sources of drinking water or by providing water from alternate sources such as borehole wells or hand-dug wells. The parasite often infects women, who do the washing and the gathering of water for households [2].

The global eradication campaign began at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in 1980. The Carter Center has led the effort since 1986 with the help of the CDC, the WHO, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and various foundations, governments, non-governmental organizations and thousands of village volunteers. The Carter Center has been able to initiate village-based surveillance, health education and distribution of filters and larvicides and solicit operational support for the digging of wells [2]. President Carter has played an important leadership role since 1986 to raise awareness in the West to raise funds, develop solutions (e.g., a filter by Dupont) and foster diplomacy (e.g., convincing warring parties to cease fire to allow efforts on eradication to continue).

Over two decades (1986-2006), global incidence has fallen from an estimated 3.5 million cases in 1986 to 25,217 in 2006. The number of countries with endemic dracunculiasis has fallen from 20 in 1986 to nine in 2006, with five of these nine reporting fewer than 30 cases each. There are also many benefits of long-term social value. Networks of women have been created for education campaigns: Ghana alone has 6,500 female Red Cross volunteers assisting in the program, and in Benin newly created women's clubs have helped to stop transmission of the disease. The program has helped to improve the quality of water sources, created jobs for the (often elderly) unemployed and inspired volunteers to pursue health-related employment. School absenteeism has decreased as fewer children have become infected. There is an increase in food production and productivity. For example, the annual economic losses due to guinea worm in three rice-growing Nigerian states was estimated to be more than $20 million; that is not the case anymore [2].

Is this "Good O.R."?


The annual Edelman Award competition "brings together top examples of innovation from large and small, profit and non-profit, corporate and governmental, American and international organizations." All the final competing teams show the use of "sophisticated analytical tools" to make a major impact on an organization and the people that it serves, and "the judges seek proof of excellence, accomplishment, and impact" [4].

The guinea worm eradication program would rank among the top in any list of projects as regards to "excellence, accomplishment and impact." In a world of increasing conflict, it has tremendous net present value not just for Africa but also for the United States and for the world at large. To answer the question about whether we should give President Carter and the Carter Center an Edelman Award, we need to first answer what exactly "sophisticated analytical methods" are and how important "impact" is to O.R. professionals relative to mathematical sophistication.

In the meantime, how about inviting someone like Dr. Donald Hopkins, vice president for health programs at the Carter Center, for a keynote speech at an INFORMS conference? And how about a gold watch for Steve Graves for his service to O.R.?



ManMohan S. Sodhi (M.Sodhi@city.ac.uk) heads the Operations Research group at Cass Business School in London.

References

1. "Low-tech tactics winning fight against Guinea worm," 2007, The New Scientist, June 21, 2007.
2. Barry, M., 2007, "The Tail End of Guinea Worm — Global Eradication Without a Drug or a Vaccine," New England Journal of Medicine, pp. 2,561-2,563.
3. "How is The Carter Center involved?" (www.cartercenter.org/health/guinea_worm/center.html).
4. "About the Edelman," www.scienceofbetter.org/Edelman/.

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