Paul Farmer (jan 1, 1959 – jan 1, 2022)

Description:

About:
-American, MD & PhD at Harvard, where he taught
-humanitarian work in global health
-pioneered applied anthropology, acting as both ethnographer and doctor to his informants
-co-founded health aid organization Partners in Health

Major works:
-Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor (2003)
→ argues that health is a human right and critiques the global inequalities that result in unequal access to healthcare
-AIDS and Accusation: Haiti and the Geography of Blame (1992)
→ examines the AIDS epidemic in Haiti, critiquing the way Haitians were blamed for the spread of the disease

Major contributions:
-concept of "structural violence"--
→ refers to the systemic oppression and inequalities that make certain groups more vulnerable to disease, suffering, and premature death
→ shows how poverty, racism, and political disenfranchisement are not just background conditions but active drivers of poor health outcomes
-bringing anthropological data into medical care

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