Paul Farmer

Medicine American 1959 – 2022 100 quotes

Co-founder of Partners In Health, focused on infectious diseases in poor countries, said 'The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that is wrong with the world.'

Quotes by Paul Farmer

In the face of suffering, silence is complicity.

Speech 2010

Medical education must include social justice.

AIDS and Accusations 1997

The poor are not passive victims; they are agents of change.

Pathologies of Power 2004

Global health requires global solidarity.

Interview 2013

Every patient has a story; ignore it at your peril.

Haiti After the Earthquake 2009

Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.

Personal reflection 2008

We treat diseases, but we heal people.

Letter 2001

Inequality is the mother of all epidemics.

Infections and Inequalities 1999

Accompaniment is the essence of solidarity.

Interview 2011

Doctors must be advocates, not just healers.

Speech 2005

The arc of the moral universe bends toward justice, but it needs our push.

To Repair the World 2015

Suffering is universal; response is not.

Pathologies of Power 2003

In medicine, compassion is our greatest tool.

AIDS and Accusations 1990

Pandemics expose the fractures in our world.

Interview 2020

Life is too short for bad coffee and worse policies.

Witty remark 2002

Justice delayed is health denied.

Speech 2010

The human spirit thrives on dignity.

Haiti After the Earthquake 2009

We must build health systems that serve everyone, everywhere.

Personal reflection 2014

In the end, we are all connected by our humanity.

Interview 2021

Legacy is not what we leave behind, but who we lift up.

Speech 2013