Even the Pandemic Hasn ’t Made Public-Health Icon Paul Farmer Lose Hope

“Am I allowed to be a normal human and say, ‘How are you?'” asks Dr. Paul Farmer as soon as our Zoom call connects. It’s an apt introduction for a man who became a living legend in the global health world mostly by being a normal human who does extraordinary things–starting with co-founding the Boston-based nonprofit organization Partners in Health (PIH) in 1987, before graduating from Harvard Medical School. Since then, PIH and its global staff of 18,000 have helped strengthen health systems in the “clinical deserts” of Haiti, Rwanda, Peru, Russia and numerous other countries. PIH’s work in these places is guided by a simple, albeit difficult to implement, principle: namely, that all humans are equal and worthy of effective medical care. Thinking like this—more radical than it should be in an often self-centered world obsessed with cost-effectiveness—has made the 61-year-old Farmer one of the world’s most influential voices on health equity and global health delivery. You wouldn’t necessarily know this simply by talking to Farmer. He often interrupts his own thoughts to make a joke. He brags about his students at Harvard like a proud father–which he is, to three kids. In many of the communities where PIH works, he is known simply as Dr. Paul. And though he is beloved in these areas, it is not because of his résumé–he cheerfully tells the story of a Haitian woman who, upon learn...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Magazine Public Health Second click Source Type: news