Paul Farmer fights for world health

Few people would guess that a Harvard professor and renowned physician would have much of a sense-of-humor - that is, until they meet Paul Farmer.

From lightly asking permission from SAS Dean Rebecca Bushnell and College Dean Dennis DeTurck to telling anecdotes to remarking on a patient recovering from malnutrition having to do sit-ups after gaining back a lot of weight, Farmer infused his informative lecture with humour before a packed Irvine Auditorium yesterday afternoon.

Students swarmed into the auditorium to hear Farmer lead the 2007 Dean's Forum with a speech entitled "AIDS in 2007: Building a Health Care Movement."

The fascinated audience listened as Farmer, a widely-respected physician, anthropologist, Harvard professor and author, discussed his celebrated method for treating patients with tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS in poverty-stricken countries, such as Haiti and Rwanda.

Farmer, who is known for putting patient care before cost, explained his procedure for bringing health care services to developing countries and "the role a research university like Penn can play in poverty and inequality."

Much of Farmer's noted work has been accomplished through Partners in Health, an organization he co-founded in 1987 that provides medical services to impoverished communities in Haiti, Rwanda, Peru, Russia and elsewhere.

Engaging his audience through education and humor, Farmer answered a question students often ask him: "What can be done about poverty and the inequality of health care?"

His answer was sincere.

"The world is gonna be alright if the people like the ones I met today are going to be handling the problems," Farmer said, referring to pre-med students he met with earlier in the day.

As College junior Maria Rivera put it, "In Health and Societies, Paul Farmer is like a God."

Rivera, a Health and Societies major, is also an avid Paul Farmer fan.

"I've read his work, Infection and Inequalities," said Rivera, "and I'm interested in his work in Haiti and how it relates to other countries, particularly Honduras, where I'm from."

College freshman Janday Wilson also came to the Forum to hear Farmer speak and gain insight.

"I'm pre-med, but I'm unsure of what field I want to go into," Wilson said. "I think that [Farmer's] story is amazing and will give me insight into the medical profession."

The annual Dean's Forum began in 1984 as a way to celebrate the richness of the arts and sciences, offering the University community the opportunity to meet leading intellectual figures who epitomize the liberal arts tradition.

Farmer is the Maude and Lillian Presley Professor of Social Medicine at the Harvard Medical School and trains medical students at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital. He has written extensively about health, human rights and the role of social inequalities in the distribution and outcome of infectious diseases.

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