Hydro Polymers congratulates Jimmy Carter on Peace Prize

(Oct. 11, 2002) Hydro Polymers sent congratulations to Jimmy Carter and the Carter Center after the announcement by the Nobel Institute today in Oslo that the former US president won the Nobel Peace Prize for 2002.

The Peace Prize was awarded to Jimmy Carter for his "decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development," the Norwegian Nobel Committee said.

Jimmy Carter and the Carter Center have cooperated with Hydro Polymers' in support of a project to stop the spread of the devastating Guinea Worm in Sudan.

The congratulations were sent to the Carter Center's office in Nairobi on behalf of Hydro Polymers' employees. In Sudan, the Carter Center and Norwegian Church Aid cooperated closely in organizing the distribution of several million special drinking straws that filter out the dreaded parasite from drinking water.

The Guinea Worm is the largest of all parasites, reaching up to one-meter long inside the human body. Some 98 percent of all Sudanese in areas infested with the worm's larva received the filter-equipped straws.

"Jimmy Carter has on several occasions thanked Hydro Polymers for its participation in the Sudan project. At a conference in the capital city of Khartoum last March, both Sudan's president and Carter expressed their gratitude to Norway and the project participants," said Hydro Polymers information manager Marit Nes.

Labor unions in Hydro Polymers have been consistent supporters of the Sudan project and have dedicated a portion of their monthly wages to the effort. When it was launched in 2001, Carter thanked Hydro's petrochemical personnel for their committed struggle to rid the world of the Guinea Worm.

Carter also later sent personal greetings and a thank you to the project and its supporters.