Dr. Paul Farmer, My Super Hero In Haiti

Here is an excerpt of a blog by Christy Turlington Burns

This blog is part 1 of a 5 part series on Partners in Health (PIH) and their work in Haiti.

Erin and I flew down to Haiti late last week to visit our friends at Partners in Health (PIH) and their local affiliate Zanmi Lasante. One week ago today marked the 2nd anniversary of the devastating earthquake that tragically took over 300,000 lives and left one million others displaced. January 12th is now a national day of remembrance, marked by widely held memorials and heavily attended church services honoring those whom did not survive. Having arrived in this near, yet still distant, country for the first time during a period of such significant reflection had only naturally revealed our own feelings of apprehension about how we'd find the people of Haiti in the aftermath of such an event.

It was not long ago when we stood by in utter shock, praying for the well being of the Haitian people from afar not knowing how best to give more through the many organizations who were on the ground. And while the once ensuing whirlwind of daily media attention and public interest has died down to a near halt, the earthquake itself will continue to confront the future of Haitian life, forever remaining a persistent memory of a nation. Conditions were difficult long before the earthquake hit, which brought with it nothing more than an exacerbated state of disruption and unfamiliar affront to existing challenges. But the undying strength we observed within the Haitian people as they fight back was all but discouraging. And as we learned more about the hard work of Haiti's many committed partners who are helping them to do just that, we too became equally inspired. Among those supporting partners is an organization called Partners in Health, also known as Zanmi Lasante, of which started its work in Canges, Haiti 25 years ago. Zanmi Lasante was established as a community-based health project created to deliver health care to the people living in the country's mountainous Central Plateau region.

Dr. Paul Farmer is one of the founding partners of Zanmi Lasante, which he started 25 years ago as a first year medical student at Harvard. Today he holds the honorary title of University Professor at the same school. Last year I was invited to join HMS's Global Health Council, and it was in this capacity that I was offered an opportunity to visit Haiti -- the place where the PIH model was first put into action. Today their work spans across ten countries, including the U.S.

The following is only but a portion of what PIH sets out to accomplish in their mission.

Our mission is a preferential option for the poor in health care. By establishing long-term relationships with sister organizations based in settings of poverty, Partners In Health strives to achieve two overarching goals: to bring benefits of modern medical science to those most in need of them and to serve as an antidote to despair. We draw on the resources of the world's leading medical and academic institutions and on the lived experience of the world's poorest and sickest communities. For more info, click here.

After spending four days on the campus in Canges, we were given the chance to see many of the organization's regional activities and to grasp a more in-depth vision of what they do on a global scale. And we were fortunate to be there at a time when Dr. Farmer and some of the best and brightest from his core team were also present in the country. Over the next few days we'll be posting a series to share more about what we learned, so stay tuned...

Christy Turlington Burns, Founder, Every Mother Counts

Erin Thornton, Executive Director, Every Mother Counts

To read Part 2 of the series, click here.

Every Mother Counts on Facebook

.

Read More About Haiti Recovery Here

For the past 18 months, construction crews have worked tirelessly to build Mirebalais National Teaching Hospital, an impressive 180,000 sq. ft. complex that will soon be home to Haiti's largest public teaching and referral hospital. Scheduled to open in 2012, the project is the cornerstone of PIH's efforts to help the country rebuild following the devastating 2010 earthquake. At a time when Haiti desperately needs skilled professionals, the facility will provide high-quality education for the next generation of Haitian nurses, medical students, and resident physicians.

Read More About The Haiti Hospital

A Must To Read If You Care About Haiti

Haiti After the Earthquake

On January 12, 2010 a massive earthquake laid waste to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, killing hundreds of thousands of people. Within three days, Partners In Health co-founder Paul Farmer arrived in the Haitian capital to join his colleagues in treating the injured.

In this vivid narrative, Farmer describes the incredible suffering--and resilience--that he encountered in Haiti. Having worked in the country for nearly thirty years, he skillfully explores the social issues that made Haiti so vulnerable to the earthquake--the very issues that make it an "unnatural disaster." Complementing his account are stories from other doctors, volunteers, and earthquake survivors.Dr.Farmers' New Book "Haiti After The Earthquake"

Paul Farmer: Rebuilding Haiti, but 'building back better'

As Haiti prepares for presidential and legislative elections at the end of November, there's pressure to speed up the slow and frustrating work of relief and reconstruction in areas devastated by January's earthquake.

The six-month anniversary of the quake came and went in June, with considerable criticism about the million-plus Haitians still stranded in tent cities and the international community's dubious commitment to deliver billions of dollars pledged for reconstruction.

There is a bold international vision for Haiti. It's described as a kind of Marshall Plan to "build back better," as the mantra goes. But achieving it is no easy task.

Read The Complete Article Here

Abbot could have just given money to Partners In Health and called it a day. Instead, they've been on the ground helping to build a factory to make hunger-destroying peanut paste.

All too often, corporate philanthropy involves dropping a wad of money on organizations that are doing work on an issue that the corporation "cares" about, and then saying goodbye. Bu sometimes, corporations actually bring their know-how and human capital to bear on a problem, in addition to just giving money. The global pharmaceutical company Abbott is taking the second path, focusing on long-lasting initiatives that can grow local economies in struggling areas. Case in point: Abbott's work to combat severe malnutrition in Haiti.

Continue Reading

SPECIAL BULLETIN FROM PARTNERS IN HEALTH

Hot heads: Calling all knitters!

Baby born at the Burera District Hospital--kept warm with a stylish beanie cap.(Photo)

In the chilly mountains of rural Rwanda, where last year PIH's partner organization began working with the Burera District Hospital, resources are very limited and the temperature often drops into the 50s. Newborn babies, particularly those born prematurely, often struggle to keep warm. In a country where one in 10 babies dies before her first birthday, hypothermia is a serious threat.

A simple solution that can help save some of these little ones is to provide them all with beanies to keep them warm.

We are looking for knitters to help us put a warm beanie cap on every baby born in Burer-as is done in American hospitals. The Burera District Hospital welcomes about 100 new babies into the world each month, so our current goal is to provide 100 caps per month.

All beanie styles and colors are welcome. Hats can be made to fit either premature babies (head about the size of an orange) or full-term babies (head about the size of a grapefruit). We will arrange shipping from Boston to northern Rwanda.

Hats and donations may be sent to:

Jesse Greenspan,

Partners In Health,
Attn: Baby hats,
888 Commonwealth Ave, 3rd floor,
Boston, MA 02215

Phone: +1 617-998-8922

Clinton appoints Paul Farmer as Haiti deputy according to this recent press release.

That's fantastic news as Haiti could not find a better friend than Dr.Farmer.

Hamburg native bicycles over 3,000 miles for charity

By:Catherine Colmerauer
Date: Thursday June 23, 2011

When Peter Hines came to a crossroads in his life, he did not take the road less traveled. Instead, he chose to create a path of his very own.

After leaving the Peace Corps earlier than he anticipated, the 26-year-old Hamburg native found himself full of time but without a focus. He had three months to spare before his job as a youth leader for a Global Works service trip to Costa Rica began.

"I figured I could do nothing; I could get a job at a coffee shop briefly; or I could do something really meaningful," Hines said.

He chose option number three.

Last Monday (June 20), Hines completed a three-month, 3,250 mile cross-country bicycle trip to raise money for Partners in Health, a non-profit organization that provides free and adequate health care to poor communities, especially those in Haiti.

Read More Here

Photo

Food is becoming increasingly scarce and expensive in Haiti. Many people are looking to agriculture to help avert a food crisis after a reverse urban migration.
More than half a million people fled to Central Haiti from Port-au-Prince after the devastating earthquake hit Haiti on January 12, 2010. Families on Haiti's Central Plateau offered shelter to as many as 20 additional people in their one or two-bedroom huts with mud floors. This is the area, where Dr. Paul Farmer's model hospital, Zanmi Lasante ( "Partners in Health" in Haitian Creole), provides health care for the poor since 1984. The health clinic also started an agricultural initiative (Zanmi Agrikol) to increase food production in the region.
Read More Here

-Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realise we cannot eat money.
~ Native American Indian Proverb ~

Clipart

Brooksville claims its hometown hero, Dr. Paul Farmer

Story And Photo

"Malnutrition is really the most common cause of death in children under 5 around the world," says PIH Chief Medical Officer Joia Mukherjee. "You have to treat this as a medical emergency."

Across the world, a staggering 200 million children suffer from malnutrition. This debilitating condition is the lurking giant behind some of the world's greatest killers - from malaria to dehydration - and is indirectly responsible for the death of some 6 million children each year. In young children the effects of malnutrition are magnified, and if untreated, cause life-long debilitating conditions that can be passed on to future generations.

"Although it's a massive problem, it's also a treatable problem," adds Dr. Mukherjee. Two Degrees Food is partnering with Partners In Health to address malnutrition in developing countries by selling all natural food bars in the US.

"For every bar we sell in the United States, we give a medically formulated nutrition pack to a malnourished child in Africa," says Two Degrees Co-founder and CEO Lauren Walters. "Our aim at Two Degrees is to give away millions of nutrition packs." These nutrition packs, known as ready-to-use-therapeutic foods (RUTF), have been shown to be up to 95% effective at completely curing severe acute malnutrition in children.

Read More Of This Wonderful Partnership With Partners In Health

Here is an excerpt from the Seattle Times News Source.Dr.Farmer Persuades Drug Company

"Many health advocates criticize drug companies for their long neglect of diseases that mainly afflict the poor.

But their expertise is needed to remedy the situation, said Dr. Paul Farmer, whose work with HIV- and TB-infected people in Haiti and other parts of the developing world was described in the book "Mountains Beyond Mountains."

"It would be a real mistake if we were skeptical of the industry to the extent we didn't allow them to play the role we need them to play," said Farmer, who serves on the initiative's board of advisers.

Farmer helped persuade Lilly to donate TB drugs to poor communities and to allow factories in India and Russia to produce the medicines at lower cost.

"I think a lot of people underestimate how much goodwill there can be in a huge company," he said."

"The thing about rights is that in the end you can't prove what should be considered a right."

"I would argue that a social justice approach should be central to medicine and utilized to be central to public health. This could be very simple: the well should take care of the sick."

In fact, it seems to me that making strategic alliances across national borders i
n order to treat HIV among the world's poor
is one of the last great hopes of solidarity across a widening divide.

Since I do not believe that there should be different recommendations
for people living in the Bronx and people living in Manhattan,
I am uncomfortable making different recommendations for my patients in Boston and in Haiti.
-Paul Farmer -
We do not have a good safety net. We don't have a good primary healthcare system.
-Dr.Paul Farmer
Photo

Watch Video Here

CANGE, Haiti - Trucks teeter perilously as they climb the rutted and rock-strewn road between Port-au- Prince and Cange, jolting the people who travel unsheltered on their cargo.

Under the best conditions, it is a three-hour journey of lurching, halting and downpours.
Read The Rest Of The Article