You cant have public health without a public health system. We just dont want to be part of a mindless competition for resources. We want to build back capacity in the system. – Paul Farmer
I mean, everybody should have access to medical care. And, you know, it shouldnt be such a big deal. – Paul Farmer
Haiti is always talking about decentralization and nothing has been so obvious, perhaps a weakness, as the centralized nature of Haitian society as being revealed by the earthquake. I mean, they lost all these medical training programs because they didnt have them anywhere else. – Paul Farmer
The biggest public health challenge is rebuilding health systems. In other words, if you look at cholera or maternal mortality or tuberculosis in Haiti, theyre major problems in Haiti, but the biggest problem is rebuilding systems. – Paul Farmer
A lot of people over time have had this kind of pattern in their relationship with Bill Clinton. You first meet him and youre overwhelmed by his talent. Hes so energetic and articulate and full of ideas and he calls himself a congenital optimist and that optimism is contagious. – Dee Dee Myers