In wealthy countries like America, getting diseases such as small pox, polio, and tuberculosis is not something we fear. That is because of the research our country has done to discover medicines that prevent these sicknesses. In Haiti, however, such preventative medicines do not exist. The technology was not shared and the cost of obtaining the medicine is far too high. Instead, they are forced to only get treatment after they get the disease, which is much more expensive. Because the wealthy nations do not have to deal with their citizens dying of these diseases, further research as stopped, leaving poor countries without affordable preventative care (Kidder 144). Paul Farmer realized what was going on, and decided to attempt to convince other nations to help him wipe tuberculosis out of places like Haiti. Farmer’s decision to spend his time getting global aid instead of staying in Haiti to treat patients himself will in the long run help the Haitians build a better health care system.
Although Farmer wanted to get aid from other nations, he knew he could not do it himself. He knew he needed another well-known doctor to help him persuade those nations, and he needed more doctors to take care of his patients in Haiti while he was away. Getting these doctors is exactly what he did. Firstly, he worked with a man named Jim and together, they derived a plan to use tuberculosis’ airborne dangers to scare the world into helping them (Kidder 143). He then got a whole medical team together to treat some of his patients. This team included some medical school students, Jaime Bayona, a Peruvian doctor, several nurses, and Farmer himself (Kidder 143). The team would work under Farmer and follow his treatment plans, which he would communicate to them through email. Having a team of doctors to perform the physical aspects of treatment gives Farmer more time to seek help for his patients in other ways. He not longer has to physically be in Haiti to look at his patients and give treatments or perform surgeries to fix their wounds. He can let the team do the actual treatment while he does other things with the extra time he gains.
With this time, Farmer travels and attends conventions to speak to other doctors and gain support for his cause. Many doctors and companies around the world know of what Farmer is doing in Haiti. The decision to use his reputation to convince other nations to help Haiti is a much better way to help his patients. It is almost as if he was a celebrity who was hired to talk in a commercial. When people see that celebrity promoting a product, they are more likely to buy it because they want to be more like celebrities. Similarly, those who admire Dr. Farmer might go to see him speak at a convention and there is a good chance they will contribute to his work. This contribution could be financial support, however it could also be funding towards research to find an affordable treatment for diseases that may be almost extinct in wealthy nations, but still kill thousands in poor countries. As a backup plan, if his “celebrity” status does not work, He and Jim created a brilliant plan to scare wealthy nations into performing further research. Because tuberculosis is spread through the air, they say that anybody who travels into their country can give their citizens the disease. Farmer and Jim hope that this fear will be enough to make them discover another treatment.
In the long run, the Haitian people will benefit from Farmer’s decision to do less physical treatment and more travel. By leaving his patients sides, he does take away the hope they have from knowing that a dedicated doctor is next to them, however the future of the people will be better and healthier. By finding a team of dedicated doctors to help treat his patients, Farmer was able to spend his time traveling to other nations, hoping to gain support and inspire research for more affordable treatments of tuberculosis. Farmer’s sacrifice will eventually create a better Haitian healthcare system for his patients and will hopefully be another step to make Haiti a healthier place to live.
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