Thursday, March 28

Paul Farmer, global health pioneer and Harvard professor, dies at 62


Dr. Paul Farmer, a giant in the field of global health, professor at Harvard Medical School and co-founder of the nonprofit Partners In Health, died Monday in Butaro, Rwanda, in a hospital he helped build.

A cause of death has not been announced, but his death was confirmed by Sheila Davis, executive director of Partners in Health, in an email to staff.

Farmer, 62, spent his professional life fighting for quality medical care for people regardless of their income, race or geography. This quest brought him to some of the poorest places in the world, including Rwanda, as it rebuilt from the 1994 genocide, Peru as it battled an epidemic of drug-resistant tuberculosis, and in Russian prisons overrun with HIV.

He began his medical career in Haiti and helped build a health infrastructure in that country through Partners In Health, which also led a medical response to the devastating 2010 earthquake there.


www.usatoday.com

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