Farmer Looks to Rwanda

Students crowded into corridors of the Center for Population and Development Studies yesterday to hear Presley Professor of Social Medicine Paul Farmer discuss his pioneering model for treating infectious diseases in developing countries.

A captivated audience listened as Farmer, an internationally acclaimed physician and public health activist, explained how his HIV Equity Initiative is expanding its prevention and care programs to impoverished rural communities to Rwanda.

The intiative, which is part of Farmer’s “Partners in Health” charity, was the first program in the world to offer free antiretroviral therapy and has been active in Haiti since 1987.

More than five percent of the adults in Rwanda are infected with HIV or AIDS, and the World Health Organization estimates that 40.3 million people have the disease worldwide. At least five million people around the world will die within two years if they do not receive antiretroviral treatment.

Nancy Dorsinville, convener of the AIDS Policy Working Group, said the event aimed to raise awareness and engage students with a world-renowned practitioner.

“Dr. Farmer is a leading advocate for changing health policy and rethinking funding priorities to help the poor,” she said.

Farmer started working in rural Haiti as a medical student in 1983. Last year, he was named as one of America’s 25 Best Leaders by U.S. News & World Report for his work to bring medical attention and care to those who would otherwise receive nothing.

Javier J. Castro ’09, a member of the Harvard AIDS Coalition, said he wasn’t surprised by the high turnout at the event.

“He’s a celebrity, so wherever he goes he attracts attention,” Castro said. “The key issue is whether students will be motivated to take action.”