We are all mourning the loss of Dr. Farmer, a tremendous force in global health and human rights. We are heartbroken for Dr. Didi Bertrand who is the wife of Dr. Farmer, and with whom we had the great honor to share our work with during the Social Medicine Consortium in Jaltenango, Mexico in 2019.

It’s hard to overstate the importance that Dr. Farmer’s life work and writing has had on so many of us who do global health equity work.  My first introduction to him was the New Yorker article by Tracy Kidder, called The Good Doctor. His unusual family upbringing, living in tents and boats, reminded me of my own childhood and helped me feel comfortable with the idea that growing up poor in an unconventional family could also be a pathway to medicine and justice work. At the time I was in medical school at Georgetown, and I felt a bit stifled by the culture I was subsumed in.  I was also intrigued by liberation theology and its application to global health justice, and these ideas were just starting to take shape in my mind.  Then I read Pathologies of Power, and Dr. Farmer’s strong words helped solidify my future goals in medicine and global health work.  His vision helped me to seek out the guidance of strong mentors like Jyoti Puuvula and Gilbert Granados, who introduced me to DGH and liberation medicine.  Now, over 15 years later, I can see how his words set me on my life course.  Thank you, Dr. Farmer. 

I am reminded of the words of labor organizer and songwriter Joe Hill, whom our cherished DGH mentor Jyoti Puuvula always keeps fresh in our minds: “Don’t mourn, organize”.  If we take liberation medicine seriously, then we know we must continue the work of global health equity and advancing health autonomy for the world’s poor and marginalized.  So, with our mentors in mind and looking towards the future, how will we organize around the work that is ours to do? 

Dr. Linda Sharp

DGH Member, Past DGH President