Dr. Paul Edward Farmer is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
anthropologistAnthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
and
physicianA physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
. He is currently the Kolokotrones
University ProfessorAt Harvard University, the title of University Professor is an honor bestowed upon a very small number of its tenured faculty members whose scholarship and other professional work have attained particular distinction and influence. This honor was created in 1935 by Harvard's President and Fellows...
at
Harvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, formerly the Presley Professor of
Medical AnthropologyMedical anthropology is an interdisciplinary field which studies "human health and disease, health care systems, and biocultural adaptation". It views humans from multidimensional and ecological perspectives...
in the Department of
Social MedicineThe field of social medicine seeks to:# understand how social and economic conditions impact health, disease and the practice of medicine and# foster conditions in which this understanding can lead to a healthier society....
at
Harvard Medical SchoolHarvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
, an attending physician and Chief of the Division of Global Health Equity at
Brigham and Women's HospitalBrigham and Women's Hospital is the largest hospital of the Longwood Medical and Academic Area in Boston, Massachusetts. It is directly adjacent to Harvard Medical School of which it is the second largest teaching affiliate with 793 beds...
in
BostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
,
MassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. In May 2009 he was named chairman of Harvard Medical School's Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, succeeding his longtime friend and collaborator Jim Kim. On Friday, December 17, 2010, Harvard University's President,
Drew Gilpin FaustCatherine Drew Gilpin Faust is an American historian, college administrator, and the president of Harvard University. Faust is the first woman to serve as Harvard's president and the university's 28th president overall. Faust is the fifth woman to serve as president of an Ivy League university, and...
, and the
President and Fellows of Harvard CollegeThe President and Fellows of Harvard College is the more fundamental of Harvard University's two governing boards...
, named him a Kolokotrones University Professor of Harvard University, the highest honor that the University can bestow on one of its faculty members.
Dr. Paul Edward Farmer is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
anthropologistAnthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
and
physicianA physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
. He is currently the Kolokotrones
University ProfessorAt Harvard University, the title of University Professor is an honor bestowed upon a very small number of its tenured faculty members whose scholarship and other professional work have attained particular distinction and influence. This honor was created in 1935 by Harvard's President and Fellows...
at
Harvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, formerly the Presley Professor of
Medical AnthropologyMedical anthropology is an interdisciplinary field which studies "human health and disease, health care systems, and biocultural adaptation". It views humans from multidimensional and ecological perspectives...
in the Department of
Social MedicineThe field of social medicine seeks to:# understand how social and economic conditions impact health, disease and the practice of medicine and# foster conditions in which this understanding can lead to a healthier society....
at
Harvard Medical SchoolHarvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
, an attending physician and Chief of the Division of Global Health Equity at
Brigham and Women's HospitalBrigham and Women's Hospital is the largest hospital of the Longwood Medical and Academic Area in Boston, Massachusetts. It is directly adjacent to Harvard Medical School of which it is the second largest teaching affiliate with 793 beds...
in
BostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
,
MassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. In May 2009 he was named chairman of Harvard Medical School's Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, succeeding his longtime friend and collaborator Jim Kim. On Friday, December 17, 2010, Harvard University's President,
Drew Gilpin FaustCatherine Drew Gilpin Faust is an American historian, college administrator, and the president of Harvard University. Faust is the first woman to serve as Harvard's president and the university's 28th president overall. Faust is the fifth woman to serve as president of an Ivy League university, and...
, and the
President and Fellows of Harvard CollegeThe President and Fellows of Harvard College is the more fundamental of Harvard University's two governing boards...
, named him a Kolokotrones University Professor of Harvard University, the highest honor that the University can bestow on one of its faculty members.
He currently resides in Kigali, Rwanda. He is board certified in
Internal MedicineInternal medicine is the medical specialty dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. Physicians specializing in internal medicine are called internists. They are especially skilled in the management of patients who have undifferentiated or multi-system disease processes...
and
Infectious DiseaseInfectious diseases, also known as communicable diseases, contagious diseases or transmissible diseases comprise clinically evident illness resulting from the infection, presence and growth of pathogenic biological agents in an individual host organism...
. Farmer is one of the founders of
Partners In HealthPartners In Health is a Boston, Massachusetts-based non-profit health care organization dedicated to providing a "preferential option for the poor". It was founded in 1987 by Dr. Paul Farmer, Ophelia Dahl, Thomas J. White, Todd McCormack, and Dr...
(PIH), an international health and
social justiceSocial justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
organization. His work is the subject of
Tracy KidderJohn Tracy Kidder is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American writer of the 1981 nonfiction narrative, The Soul of a New Machine, about the creation of a new computer at Data General Corporation...
's 2003 book
Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the WorldMountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World is a non-fiction, biographical work by American writer Tracy Kidder. The story traces the life of physician and anthropologist Paul Farmer. The book was a New York Times Notable Book for 2003.-External links:*...
. He is editor-in-chief of Health and Human Rights Journal. In August 2009, Paul Farmer was named United Nations Deputy Special Envoy to Haiti to assist in improving the economic and social conditions of the Caribbean nation.
Personal Life and Education
Farmer was born in
North Adams, MassachusettsNorth Adams is a city in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 13,708 as of the 2010 census, making it the least populous city in the state...
and raised in Weeki Wachee,
FloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. He is a graduate of
Hernando High SchoolHernando High School is a public high school located in Brooksville, Florida. It is part of the Hernando County School District. It has been in operation since 1889, which makes it one of the oldest, continuously operating public high schools in the United States. HHS has a large network of alumni...
in
Brooksville, FloridaBrooksville is an incorporated city in Hernando County, Florida, in the United States. It is the county seat of Hernando County. It is a suburban city included in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
and was president of his senior class. He went on to attend
Duke UniversityDuke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
on a full
scholarshipA scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
, graduating summa cum laude with a
Bachelor of ArtsA Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in
medical anthropologyMedical anthropology is an interdisciplinary field which studies "human health and disease, health care systems, and biocultural adaptation". It views humans from multidimensional and ecological perspectives...
. He then attended
Harvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, earning an MD and a PhD in medical anthropology.
He and his wife Didi have two daughters, Catherine and Elizabeth, and one son, Sebastian. He currently lives in Kigali, Rwanda with his family. His younger brother,
Jeff FarmerJeff Farmer is a professional wrestler best known as Fake Sting, and later nWo Sting. A mainstay of World Championship Wrestling during the 1990s, he led a Japanese faction of the heel stable New World Order in New Japan Pro Wrestling competing in the promotion until WCW's close in 2001. Farmer is...
, also known as the nWo Sting, is a well-known athlete, competing on the professional wrestling circuit.
International work
In 1987, Farmer, along with
Ophelia DahlOphelia Magdalena Dahl is an Anglo-American social justice and health care advocate.As of January 2008, Dahl is the president and executive director of Partners In Health , a Boston, Massachusetts-based non-profit health care organization dedicated to providing a "preferential option for the...
, Jim Yong Kim, Thomas J. White and Todd McCormack, co-founded
Partners In HealthPartners In Health is a Boston, Massachusetts-based non-profit health care organization dedicated to providing a "preferential option for the poor". It was founded in 1987 by Dr. Paul Farmer, Ophelia Dahl, Thomas J. White, Todd McCormack, and Dr...
. PIH began in
CangeCange is a small remote village in the Central Plateau of Haiti. Cange is the location of an American funded hospital, Zanmi Lasante, run by Partners in Health. Cange sits on the edge of Lake Péligre, created by a large hydroelectric dam. Some notable residents of Cange have been and are Dr...
in the Central Plateau of
HaitiHaiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
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
tuberculosisTuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
and
AIDSAcquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
.
In addition to his hospital in Haiti, Farmer oversees projects in
RussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
,
RwandaRwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
,
LesothoLesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name...
,
MalawiThe Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
and
PeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
. His approach has its basis in ethnographic analysis and real world practicality.
Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by
Tracy KidderJohn Tracy Kidder is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American writer of the 1981 nonfiction narrative, The Soul of a New Machine, about the creation of a new computer at Data General Corporation...
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 Haiti.
Dr. Farmer is a co-founder and Board Member of the
Institute for Justice & Democracy in HaitiThe Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti is a non-profit organization based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA that seeks to accompany the people of Haiti in their non-violent struggle for the consolidation of constitutional democracy, justice and human rights. IJDH distributes information on...
. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of Incentives for Global Health, the NGO focused on developing the
Health Impact FundThe Health Impact Fund is a proposed mechanism that would provide a market-based solution to problems concerning the development and distribution of medicines. It would incentivize the research and development of new pharmaceutical products that make substantial reductions in the global burden of...
.
Dr. Farmer was appointed as the Deputy UN Special Envoy for Haiti, by former US President Bill Clinton, UN Special Envoy for Haiti, on August 11, 2009. In this role, Dr. Farmer will support Clinton and assist in advancing their work on a day-to-day basis.
Dr. Farmer wrote the book, "The Uses of Haiti", (4/1/05), ISBN # 56751-034-5.
Dr. Farmer is a board member of
KagenoKageno Worldwide, Inc. is a New York City based non-profit international community development organization operating two community development projects in Kenya and a third in Rwanda. The name "Kageno" translates to “A Place of Hope” in the Kenyan dialect of Dholuo.Kageno was co-founded in 2003...
Worldwide, Inc., a community development agency that has worked in Kenya and Rwanda.
Awards
Farmer has won honors including:
- A MacArthur Fellowship, 1993
- The 9th Annual Heinz Award
The Heinz Award is an award currently given annually to ten honorees by the Heinz Family Foundation. The Heinz Awards recognize outstanding individuals for their contributions in the five areas of: Arts and Humanities, the Environment, the Human Condition, Public Policy, and Technology, the Economy...
in the Human Condition, 2003
- Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize for Partners in Health ($1.5 million), 2005
- American Medical Association
The American Medical Association , founded in 1847 and incorporated in 1897, is the largest association of medical doctors and medical students in the United States.-Scope and operations:...
's Dr. Nathan Davis International Award in Medicine
- 2007 Austin College Leadership Award ($100,000), which he donated to Partners in Health.
- 2007 Sandor Teszler Award for Moral Courage and Service to Mankind and an honorary doctorate from Wofford College
Established in 1854 and related to the United Methodist Church, Wofford College is an independent, Phi Beta Kappa liberal arts college of 1,525 students located in downtown Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States. The historic campus is recognized as a national arboretum and features “The...
in Spartanburg, SC.
- Member of the Institute of Medicine of The National Academies (U.S.).
- 2008 Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award presented to Dr. Farmer and Partners in Health.
Additional Honors
- In 2004, Farmer delivered the Lewis Henry Morgan Lecture at the University of Rochester
The University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.The...
, considered by many to be the most important annual lecture series in the field of Anthropology.
- He received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Thomas Jefferson University on June 2, 2006, where he delivered the keynote address for commencement exercises.
- He received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Boston College on May 23, 2005 where he delivered the keynote address for commencement exercises.
- He received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Princeton University on June 6, 2006, and delivered an address at the Princeton University Baccalaureate in June 2008.
- He received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
on May 14, 2007, where he delivered the keynote address for the university's 162nd commencement ceremony.
- He received an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
on May 20, 2007, where he also was a speaker at the Notre Dame forum in September 2006.
- He was the invited keynote speaker for the 57th Annual Convention of the American Medical Student Association (AMSA) held in Washington DC. (March 2007)
- He was the guest speaker for the first Jonathan Mann Health and Human Rights Memorial Lecture, sponsored by the Drexel University School of Public Health, held on November 20, 2007.
- In 2008, he was named a "Social Entrepreneur of the Year" by the Skoll Foundation
The Skoll Foundation is a social entrepreneurship foundation based in Silicon Valley, California, with a mission to drive large-scale change by investing in, connecting, and celebrating social entrepreneurs and other innovators dedicated to solving the world’s most pressing problems...
- He received an honorary doctorate degree from Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
on May 20, 2009.
- He received an honorary doctorate degree from Suffolk University
Suffolk University is a private, non-sectarian, university located in Boston, Massachusetts and with over 16,000 students it is the third largest university in Boston...
on May 23, 2010
- He was awarded an honorary degree from Brandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
on May 23, 2010
- He was awarded an honorary degree from Macalester College
Macalester College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 as a Presbyterian-affiliated but nonsectarian college. Its first class entered September 15, 1885. The college is located on a campus in a historic residential neighborhood...
on September 14, 2010
- He received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
on May 22, 2011, where he delivered the keynote address for the university's 179th commencement exercises.
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
- Global Health in Times of Violence, co-edited with Barbara Rylko-Bauer
Barbara Rylko-Bauer is an anthropologist and a professor at Michigan State University's Department of Anthropology. She was born in 1950 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and emigrated with her parents to the United States that same year.-Career:...
and Linda Whiteford, School for Advanced Research Press, 2009 edition: ISBN 978-1-934691-14-4
- Women, Poverty & AIDS: Sex, Drugs and Structural Violence (Series in Health and Social Justice), with coauthor Margaret Connors, 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.
- Haiti After the Earthquake, Public Affairs July 12, 2011 ISBN-13: 978-1-586-48973-1
External links
- Partners In Health
- Dr. Paul Farmer Challenges Profit-Driven Medical System While Bringing Healthcare to Poor Communities Worldwide, Democracy Now, May 28, 2008. Interview with Amy Goodman. Transcript, audio and video.
- Video of Building a Community-based Health Care Movement, Dr. Paul Farmer's speech at University of Washington, by UWTV, November 13, 2006
- Video of Paul Farmer and Tracy Kidder presenting the book Mountains Beyond Mountains
Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World is a non-fiction, biographical work by American writer Tracy Kidder. The story traces the life of physician and anthropologist Paul Farmer. The book was a New York Times Notable Book for 2003.-External links:*...
, by Cambridge Community Television, October 20, 2006
- Video of Reinvigorating the Struggle: A Clinical and Social Justice Perspective on International Health, Dr. Paul Farmer's speech at the University of Virginia, by UVA NewsMakers, (RealPlayer required)
- Audio reading of a book about Farmer's work in Haiti, by NPR
- Audio of Speech by Farmer as part of the 2006 Calvin College January series
- Audio of Speech by Farmer as part of the 2005 Calvin College January series
- Audio of Interview of Farmer rebroadcast by WBUR Boston
- Audio of 10/03/2003 episode of "On Point" which includes an interview of Farmer
- Audio of a talk at MIT where Farmer and Noam Chomsky speak about Haiti and Farmer's book "The Uses of Haiti" – the link is near the bottom of the page.
- Featured in the documentary "Aristide and the Endless Revolution" by Nicolas Rossier
- Video Featured in the documentary Pin of Hope, currently in production
- Dr. Paul Farmer on Haiti’s Challenges Following Catastrophic Earthquake – video report by Democracy Now!
Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...