Paul Farmer

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Dr. Paul Farmer
Dr. Paul Farmer

Paul Farmer (born October 26, 1959) is an American anthropologist and physician, the Presley Professor of Medical Anthropology in the Department of Social Medicine at Harvard University and an attending physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. He currently resides in Rwanda. His medical specialty is Infectious Diseases. Farmer is one of the founders of Partners In Health (PIH), an international health and social justice organization. His work is the subject of Tracy Kidder's 2003 book Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World.

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[edit] Education

Based on a recommendation from a high school teacher, Paul Farmer pursued his undergraduate studies at Duke University, graduating in 1982 with a Bachelor's Degree in anthropology. He received his MD from Harvard Medical School in 1988 and his Ph.D in medical anthropology in 1990 from Harvard University.[1]

[edit] International work

In 1987, Farmer, along with Ophelia Dahl, Jim Yong Kim, Thomas J. White and Todd McCormack, co-founded Partners In Health. PIH began in Cange in the Central Plateau of Haiti and has developed into a worldwide health organization. The PIH hospital in Haiti provides free treatment to patients. PIH helps patients living in poverty to obtain effective drugs to treat tuberculosis and AIDS.

In addition to his hospital in Haiti, Farmer oversees projects in Russia, Rwanda, Lesotho, Malawi and Peru. His approach has its basis in ethnographic analysis and real world practicality.[1]

Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder details Farmer's work in Haiti, Peru, and Russia, as well as his efforts to balance clinical and academic responsibilities with having a family of his own. The book narrates the interactions and conflicts Farmer faces as he attempts to secure healthcare for the poor in third world countries.

Dr. Farmer is a co-founder and Board Member of the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti[1]

[edit] Honors

Farmer has won multiple honors including:[2]

Farmer received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Emory University on May 14, 2007, where he delivered the keynote address for the university's 162nd commencement ceremony.[3]

He also received an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Notre Dame on May 20, 2007, where he also was a speaker at the Notre Dame forum in September 2006.[4][5]

Dr. Paul Farmer will be the guest speaker for the first Jonathan Mann Health and Human Rights Memorial Lecture sponsored by the Drexel University School of Public Health to be held on the 20th of November, 2007.

Dr. Paul Farmer was the invited keynote speaker for the 57th Annual Convention of the American Medical Student Association (AMSA) held in Washington, DC. (March 2007)

On May 4th, 2008, CBS 60 Minutes did a segment on Dr. Farmer and Partners in Health. In 2008, he was named a "Social Entrepreneur of the Year" by the Skoll Foundation (www.skollfoundation.org).

[edit] Publications

  • AIDS and Accusation: Haiti and the Geography of Blame, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992, 1993, 2006 edition: ISBN 978-0-520-08343-1
  • The Uses of Haiti, Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 1994, 2003, 2005 edition: ISBN 978-1-56751-242-7
  • ¿Haití para qué?, Hondarribia, Spain: HIRU Argitaletxea, 1994
  • Sida en Haїti: La Victime accusée, Paris: Editions Karthala, 1996
  • Infections and Inequalities: The Modern Plagues, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999, revised 2001 edition: ISBN 978-0-520-22913-6
  • Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor, Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003, 2005 edition: ISBN 978-0-520-24326-2
  • Women, Poverty & AIDS: Sex, Drugs and Structural Violence (Series in Health and Social Justice), with coauthor Margaret Connors (Author), Common Courage Press; Reprint edition (September 1996), ISBN 978-1-56751-074-4
  • Who removed Aristide?, London Review of Books, ISSN 0260-9592, April 15, 2004, Retrieved on 2007-11-19

[edit] Personal

Farmer was born in North Adams, Massachusetts and raised in Weeki Wachee, Florida. He and his wife Didi have two daughters, Catherine and Elizabeth, and one son, Sebastian.[6] His younger brother, Jeff Farmer, also known as the nWo Sting, is a well known athlete, competing on the professional wrestling circuit.[7]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b Paul Farmer, MD, PhD. The Jay Weiss Center for Social Medicine and Health Equity, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine. Retrieved on 2007-07-01.
  2. ^ "Paul Farmer wins $100,000 Austin College award", White Coat Notes, Boston.com, February 28, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-07-01. 
  3. ^ Commencement Speaker and Recipients of Honorary Degrees. Commencement 2007. Emory University. Retrieved on 2007-04-09.
  4. ^ Brown, Dennis (April 2, 2007). Nine distinguished figures to join Immelt as honorary degree recipients. University of Notre Dame. Retrieved on 2007-05-29.
  5. ^ Brown, Dennis (August 31, 2006). Jeffrey Sachs, Paul Farmer to participate in Notre Dame Forum on global health crisis. University of Notre Dame. Retrieved on 2007-05-29.
  6. ^ English, Bella (April 13, 2008). In Rwanda, visionary doctor is moving mountains again. The Boston Globe. Retrieved on 2008-04-13.
  7. ^ Remnick, David (September 18, 2006). The Wanderer: Bill Clinton’s quest to save the world, reclaim his legacy—and elect his wife. The New Yorker. Retrieved on 2007-05-29.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Democracy Now, May 28, 2008. Interview with Amy Goodman. Transcript, audio and video.