Paul Farmer, MD, PhD, is Presley Professor of Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, associate chief of the division of global health equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and a co-founder of Partners In Health, a nonprofit organization that provides free health care and undertakes research and advocacy on behalf of the destitute sick. He is known for helping create innovative community-based approaches to treat HIV/AIDS and TB in resource-poor settings, particularly in Haiti and Rwanda.

Partners in Health

The charismatic doctor and social activist, known for his work in Haiti and co-founding the organization Partners in Health, talks about why the American health-care system is not working, and what advice he has for the new crop of college graduates entering the real world. His commencement speeches have been collected in the new book To Repair the World.

A critique of the 'new humanitarian order' raises troubling questions about foreign aid, humanitarian assistance, and respect for dignity and sovereignty.