A giant in the world of public health, Dr. Paul Farmer, died in the town of Butaro, Rwanda today at age 62, apparently of a heart attack while sleeping. He was in Rwanda on a teaching assignment.
When UNICEF announced a refocus of its health programmes to focus on the 'poorest of the poor' in 2020, Paul Farmer wrote from Rwanda to say, : "They are right to point out that reported decreases in child mortality belie ballooning inequality and worse outcomes among the most vulnerable: kids on the street and in shanty towns, child laborers and child soldiers, orphans and victims of sex trafficking."
From Partners in Health - click here for the full article
From Partners in Health - click here for the full article
Remembering Dr. Paul Farmer
World-renowned infectious disease doctor, anthropologist, global health advocate, and author leaves large legacy
Dr. Paul Farmer helped found Partners In Health, which now collaborates with governments across 12 countries to bring quality health care to those most in need. Photo by John Ra / Partners In Health
Partners In Health announced that its founder, Dr. Paul Farmer, unexpectedly passed away today in Rwanda from an acute cardiac event while he was sleeping.
Dr. Farmer was 62 years old. He is survived by his wife, Didi Bertrand Farmer, and their three children.
Partners In Health CEO Dr. Sheila Davis released the following statement:
“Paul Farmer’s loss is devastating, but his vision for the world will live on through Partners in Health. Paul taught all those around him the power of accompaniment, love for one another, and solidarity. Our deepest sympathies are with his family.”
About Dr. Paul Farmer
Paul Farmer, M.D., Ph.D., was Kolokotrones University Professor and chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, chief of the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and co-founder and chief strategist of Partners In Health.
Dr. Farmer and his colleagues pioneered novel, community-based treatment strategies that demonstrate the delivery of high-quality health care in resource-poor settings. He wrote extensively on health, human rights, and the consequences of social inequality. Dr. Farmer was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, from which he was the recipient of the 2018 Public Welfare Medal.
He authored multiple books, including: In the Company of the Poor: Conversations with Dr. Paul Farmer and Fr. Gustavo Gutiérrez, Reimagining Global Health: An Introduction, and To Repair the World: Paul Farmer Speaks to the Next Generation. His most recent book was released in November 2020: Fevers, Feuds, and Diamonds: Ebola and the Ravages of History.
Dr. Farmer was 62 years old. He is survived by his wife, Didi Bertrand Farmer, and their three children.
Partners In Health CEO Dr. Sheila Davis released the following statement:
“Paul Farmer’s loss is devastating, but his vision for the world will live on through Partners in Health. Paul taught all those around him the power of accompaniment, love for one another, and solidarity. Our deepest sympathies are with his family.”
About Dr. Paul Farmer
Paul Farmer, M.D., Ph.D., was Kolokotrones University Professor and chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, chief of the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and co-founder and chief strategist of Partners In Health.
Dr. Farmer and his colleagues pioneered novel, community-based treatment strategies that demonstrate the delivery of high-quality health care in resource-poor settings. He wrote extensively on health, human rights, and the consequences of social inequality. Dr. Farmer was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, from which he was the recipient of the 2018 Public Welfare Medal.
He authored multiple books, including: In the Company of the Poor: Conversations with Dr. Paul Farmer and Fr. Gustavo Gutiérrez, Reimagining Global Health: An Introduction, and To Repair the World: Paul Farmer Speaks to the Next Generation. His most recent book was released in November 2020: Fevers, Feuds, and Diamonds: Ebola and the Ravages of History.
From the NYTimes - click here for the full article
Paul Farmer, Pioneer of Global Health, Dies at 62
Dr. Farmer attracted public renown with “Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World,” a 2003 book by Tracy Kidder that described the extraordinary efforts he would make to care for patients, sometimes walking hours to their homes to ensure they were taking their medication.He was a practitioner of “social medicine,” arguing there was no point in treating patients for diseases only to send them back into the desperate circumstances that contributed to them in the first place. Illness, he said, has social roots and must be addressed through social structures.
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| ©Angel Franco / The NYTimes |
“There are so many people that are alive because of that man,” Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a brief interview, adding that she wanted to compose herself before speaking further.
Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, President Biden’s top medical adviser, broke down in tears during an interview, in which he said he and Dr. Farmer had been like “soul brothers.”
“When you talk about iconic giants in the field of public health, he stands pretty much among a very, very short list of people,” said Dr. Fauci, who first met Dr. Farmer decades ago, when Dr. Farmer was a medical student. He added, “He called me his mentor, but in reality he was more of a mentor to me.”
Dr. Farmer, who never settled into the easy life of an elder statesman, was vigorously involved in the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, prodding the Biden administration to drop intellectual property barriers that prevented pharmaceutical companies from sharing their technology.
Earlier articles in News and Views mentioning Dr. Farmer:
Kul Gautam - Open Letter to President-elect Biden - A People's Vaccine December 10, 2020
Ellen Tolmie - Dr. Paul Farmer on Ebola - Lessons from West Africa December 5, 2020
Angela Raven Roberts - New Pathogen, Old Politics April 22, 2020
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