Paul Farmer

Paul Edward Farmer (1959-2022) transformed global health through his groundbreaking work combining medical anthropology, clinical care, and social justice. After earning his MD and PhD from Harvard University, where he became the Kolokotrones University Professor and Chair of Global Health and Social Medicine, he co-founded Partners In Health (PIH) in 1987, which grew from a small clinic in Haiti to an international organization operating in 12 countries. His innovative community-based treatment strategies demonstrated that high-quality healthcare could be delivered in resource-poor settings, pioneering successful approaches to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and other diseases. Under his leadership, PIH developed groundbreaking programs in Haiti, Rwanda, and other countries, achieving some of the highest cure rates for multi-drug resistant tuberculosis and preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission. His extensive writings, including influential books like "Mountains Beyond Mountains" and "Pathologies of Power," shaped global health discourse while advocating for health as a human right. Farmer's work earned numerous honors and demonstrated that complex medical treatments could succeed in poor settings when combined with social support. Until his unexpected death in Rwanda in 2022, he continued serving as UN Special Adviser on Community-Based Medicine while treating patients, teaching at Harvard, and advocating for global health equity.