Poverty, disease, despair: many people both near and far face these burdens every day of their lives. Yet those of us whose lives are usually free from these burdens do not always understand the forces behind them or how we can lighten the loads of those who suffer under their weight. Through insight, persistence, and skillful means, Paul Farmer, the Maude and Lillian Presley Professor of Medical Anthropology at Harvard University and co-founder of Partners In Health, is changing this situation. In his writings he has done much to help us understand how structural violence–a manifestation of economic and political inequalities–imposes poverty, disease and despair on many peoples’ lives. And through his work to organize public health efforts that transcend national boundaries, Farmer, who also teaches at Harvard Medical School, has done much to show how we can help make a difference, whether in our careers or through financial contributions.
On April 6, Paul Farmer will be visiting the Wesleyan campus both to speak with students and faculty in small forums during the afternoon and to present a public lecture that evening (see details below).
Rather than working through established models and organizations for international health care and development assistance, Farmer ended up helping establish a new one. As a student, he started with interests in both anthropology and clinical medicine, and after earning a doctorate in the former and becoming a doctor of the latter, he has used both to create innovative approaches to overcoming illness and poverty. Farmer’s anthropology research took him to Haiti; later, he returned to central Haiti to help the people there establish a hospital and other health facilities. Since then, through Partners In Health, Farmer has worked in Peru, Russia and the Roxbury area of Boston. In the near future, Partners in Health will start similar activities in Rwanda.
The web site for Partners In Health (pih.org) describes its goals as follows: “Our mission is to provide a preferential option for the poor in health care. By establishing long-term relationships with sister organizations based in settings of poverty, Partners In Health strives to achieve two overarching goals: to bring the benefits of modern medical science to those most in need of them and to serve as an antidote to despair. We draw on the resources of the world’s elite medical and academic institutions and on the lived experience of the world’s poorest and sickest communities. At its root, our mission is both medical and moral. It is based on solidarity, rather than charity alone. When our patients are ill and have no access to care, our team of health professionals, scholars, and activists will do whatever it takes to make them well—just as we would do if a member of our own families—or we ourselves—were ill.” More information on PIH can be found on two streaming videos, one available on the Wesleyan campus: (http://condor.wesleyan.edu/media/wjohnston/video/) and another available for computers with high-speed connections off campus at http://condor.wesleyan.edu/openmedia/wjohnston/video/).
In short, Paul Farmer has tweaked the words of John F. Kennedy, and instead of asking what he can do for our nation, he asks more broadly what he can do for our world by helping people without consideration for national boundaries. His reasoning is simple: if pathogens such as the HIV and tubercle bacillus ignore national boundaries, health care providers should do the same.
He has described his ideas in two major works, “Infections and Inequalities” and “Pathologies of Power,” is the author of several other books, including “The Uses of Haiti,” which is primarily a history of American involvement in that country, and “AIDS and Accusation: Haiti and the Geography of Blame.” In addition, Farmer has written numerous scholarly articles on anthropology and infectious diseases, especially HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. The Pulitzer-prize winning author Tracy Kidder has written an important book about Paul Farmer entitled “Mountains Beyond Mountains: Dr. Paul Farmer, the Man Who Would Cure the World.”
Professor Farmer will be available for a student-only discussion period between 1:15 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. at Woodhead Lounge on April 6; between 3:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., he will be available for discussion with both students and faculty, also at Woodhead Lounge. At 8:00 p.m., he will present a lecture, “Pathologies of Power: Health and Human Rights in the 21st Century,” at the Center for Film Studies Screening Room 100.
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