The sudden death on February 21st of Dr. Paul Farmer, 62, one of the founders of the non-profit Partners in Health, has rocked the world of international public medicine. An outpouring of tributes has honored the physician who worked, hands-on, in some of the poorest communities on earth, in his staunch belief that quality health care is a basic human right.
He countered experts who claimed that impoverished, often illiterate, populations could not be successfully treated for the ravages of diseases like tuberculosis and AIDS. Farmer, trained as an anthropologist as well as a doctor, proved them wrong by creating systems—including networks of aides who reach into communities to keep patients on treatment regimens—that have saved many thousands of lives.
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