Injustice has a cure
Photo by Elizabeth M. Campa
Join Partners in Health
PIH Co-founders
Ophelia Dahl
Jim Yong Kim
Todd McCormack
and
PIH CEO Sheila Davis
invite you to a weekend to honor Paul Farmer’s memory, his partnership with Loune Viaud, and all the ways in which their legacy prepares us to address the health care needs of Haitians today and for decades to come.
Miami, FL
October 22-23
RSVP
Haiti as Global Inspiration for PIH
More than 30 years ago, Paul Farmer visited Haiti and met a kindred spirit in Loune Viaud. They struck up a friendship and a lifelong partnership, planting the seeds in Haiti for what eventually became the global health and social justice nonprofit, Partners In Health.
Haiti was the birthplace of the model of health care PIHers replicate each day in hospitals, clinics, and homes across 12 countries. Entire generations of Haitians, mentored by Paul, Loune, and others, learned what it means to place patients at the center of care—to make them our bosses, listen to their needs, and walk in solidarity through sickness and on to good health.
These same Haitian clinicians and colleagues have since become the leaders of the global health equity movement for PIH and beyond, replicating and innovating a model of care that advocates for patient rights—from global halls of power and ministries of health to community clinics and patients’ bedsides. They are the living proof of what is possible when optimism and action combine.
About the Events
Saturday, October 22
6:00-9:30 p.m.
The Biltmore Miami-Coral Gables
Dinner to Celebrate the Transformative Partnership of Loune Viaud and Paul Farmer
Friends will gather for cocktails and dinner at the historic Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables to celebrate Paul and Loune and the ways in which their work together in Haiti has created the global health equity movement and seeded a generation of health care advocates and practitioners across the globe.
Sunday, October 23
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Little Haiti Cultural Center
Day of Community in Little Haiti
Experience Haitian culture – art, music, food, and crafts, and join PIH leaders as they share plans for carrying forward Paul’s vision and life’s work.
RSVP
Space is limited.
Can’t attend? Please make a gift in honor of Paul and Loune to address the current crisis and beyond.
Host Committee
Honorary Co-Chairs
José Andrés
Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor
Co-Chairs
Kerry Kennedy
Jean Marc deMatteis
Host Committee
- Mike and Beth Allen
- Jim and Karen Ansara
- Jennie Weiss Block
- Edouard Duval-Carrié
- Régine Chassagne
- Ellen Chesler and Matthew Mallow
- Beth Floor
- Henri R. Ford, MD, MHA
- Lanny and Behna Gardner
- Rolando and Monica Gonzalez-Bunster
- Kimberly Green
- Melissa Haley
- Al and Diane Kaneb
- Julio Frenk and Felicia Knaul
- G. Barrie Landry
- Tina Lane
- Michael Masters
- Laurie Weiss Nuell
- Maryse Pénette-Kedar
- Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis
- Stephen and Pilar Robert
- Richard and Lusha Roy
- Lee Brian Schrager
- The Honorable Donna Shalala
Additional Information
Health and Safety: To ensure the safety and health of all in attendance, COVID-19 vaccination is required. Please be prepared to show a copy of your vaccination card upon arrival.
Hotel Accommodations: Partners In Health has arranged a courtesy reduced-rate room block at The Biltmore Miami-Coral Gables. All reservations for that block must be booked before Thursday, September 22. You can book online using Group Code 8846 or by calling Biltmore in-house reservations at 305-445-1926 or toll free at 877-576-0793.
Parking: Valet parking is available at The Biltmore for $20; self-parking is also available.
Dr. Paul Farmer
Dr. Paul Farmer was an internationally known physician, medical anthropologist, and visionary leader. He was the Kolokotrones University Professor and chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, chief of the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and co-founder of Partners In Health. A prolific author of over a dozen books, Paul wrote extensively on health and human rights and the role of social inequalities in the distribution and outcome of infectious diseases.
Paul worked side by side with Loune Viaud in Haiti for over three decades, and in time, expanded PIH’s work to 12 countries around the globe, bringing the fruits of modern medicine to some of the most marginalized people in the world. Paul and Loune and their many colleagues have been internationally recognized for pioneering community-based treatment and demonstrating that high-quality health care can be effectively delivered in resource-poor settings.
Paul was the recipient of many prestigious awards and honors; however, it was his extraordinary compassion for his fellow human beings and his uncommon dedication to the common good that marked his life and life’s work. People the world over mourned his untimely death in February. In Paul’s honor, his many friends and colleagues remain committed to carrying forth his vision for global health equity for all.
Loune Viaud
Born in Port-Salut in southern Haiti, Loune Viaud has dedicated her life to the service of others. After meeting Paul Farmer in 1988 when she was 23 years old, they connected over a shared connection: a deep compassion for the suffering of others, an abiding commitment to justice, and the grit needed to work in difficult circumstances without losing hope.
Loune was the founding director of Zanmi Lasante, Partners In Health’s sister organization in Haiti. Under her leadership, Zanmi Lasante supported 16 health care facilities throughout Haiti’s Central Plateau and lower Artibonite regions and provided hundreds of thousands of people with access to modern medicine. In the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake, Loune and Paul led the effort to establish Zanmi Beni, a permanent home for children who had been orphaned or abandoned. Most recently, in 2021, Loune was named PIH’s Chief Gender and Social Equity Officer and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Global Health Equity in Haiti.
An internationally known human rights advocate, Loune is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award for her innovative patient-centered approach to establishing health care systems in Haiti. Her groundbreaking work encompasses gender equity, HIV/AIDS treatment, and equal access to health care, medicine, and clean water.
About PIH
Founded in 1987, Partners In Health is dedicated to bringing high-quality health care to those who need it most. We model our work on the concept of accompaniment, which we define as being there, together, for as long as it takes. We accompany first and foremost our patients, whom we often refer to as our bosses. We also accompany local and national governments, ministries of health, and our staff and supporters on a shared journey to provide health care to all.
PIH builds, operates, and supports hospitals and health centers across 12 countries, directly providing care to 8 million patients. But our reach extends much further, because we partner with national governments to build comprehensive health systems and advocate internationally for global health policy change. Our approach to health care delivery is currently informing the national health policies of more than 40 countries, reaching over 334 million people in need.