Much of what Hope Through Health is able to be accomplishing in Togo is the result of the incredible individuals before us: pioneers in the field of global health equity who have contributed towards creating the movement that we are honored to be a part of today. One of these giants is Dr. Paul Farmer, co-founder of Partners In Health and a longtime advisor to HTH co-founder Dr. Kevin Fiori. Since 2004, Dr. Farmer has provided guidance and advice to Kevin that has helped to inform the work of Hope Through Health and our partner organization in Togo. Always willing to respond to an email, even one from a Peace Corps Volunteer working in the small, neglected nation of Togo, Dr. Farmer has encouraged and inspired countless students and young people to join the movement for global health equity. Furthermore, he has done much to reinforce the importance of putting patients at the center of global health delivery. This idea is at the core of Hope Through Health’s approach to strengthening the Togolese public health care system. Kevin and HTH Executive Director Jenny Schechter were lucky to meet with Dr. Farmer and listen to an interview he held with Claudia Dreifus at the 92nd Street Y in New York City on May 14 of this year. The inspiring dialogue, worth listening to in its entirety, is available here. 
During the course of the interview Dr. Farmer was asked about the consequences of being a “Humanitarian Celebrity”. Remaining characteristically modest, Dr. Farmer acknowledged that there are positive consequences to his growing fame. When asked if [being a humanitarian celebrity] helps, Dr. Farmer responded, “It helps move important things, that is staff and stuff, to people living in poverty and facing enormous burdens of disease. I’ve already seen a bunch of people here tonight…supporters of Partners In Health…young physicians who are working in places like Togo for the last ten years, who are doing something very similar to Partners In Health, a younger generation…There are people here in this room who can help us move staff and stuff.” He went on to comment, “I think it’s important not to pretend that we live in three worlds, first, second and third, but to acknowledge we live in one world, and to fight to make those connections, and again as you said the r-word, redistribution, to move some of those resources from places where there is enough or even too much, to places where there is so little.” This ability to “move staff and stuff” to the places they are needed most, places like the forgotten country of Togo, is the reason Hope Through Health exists. Hope Through Health rejects the idea that one’s fate must be determined by the latitude and longitude of her birthplace, and we are working to change that reality by ensuring that high quality health care is available to all who need it in Togo. We are working to provide the greatest possible value to our patients, to ensure that communities have a voice and to support the Togolese government in its efforts to build a broad and sustainable health care system. Hope Through Health is honored to be a supported partner organization of Partners In Health. The collaborative nature that Partners In Health has demonstrated toward other organizations represents a paradigm shift in the nonprofit sector; their open sharing of best practices across all aspects of their work has inspired our organization to adopt a similar commitment to sharing our resources with others. Both of our organizations acknowledge that working in partnership is the only way to truly build an effective movement. Hope Through Health is greatly indebted to the advice and support we have received from Dr. Farmer and many of the staff at Partners In Health from 2004 to this day. As we grow as an organization, it is inherent for us to lend our support to other organizations to provide the best possible care to our patients, as well as the millions of others in need of improved health systems around the world.
Thank you, Paul Farmer!