Paul Farmer Talks with Melinda Gates in 'Wired'
Posted on Nov 12, 2013
End poverty. Save lives. Cure disease. Fix the world. These are just some of the taglines that appear on the cover of Wired magazine’s December issue. With such bold and selfless calls to action, it should come as no surprise to learn that the guest editor of this month’s issue is none other than global health champion Bill Gates.
The issue is packed with interesting analysis of potential solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. But one article in particular stands out, at least to us at PIH.
Wired Senior Editor Caitlin Roper sat down for a conversation with PIH's Dr. Paul Farmer and Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. From community health workers to transportation infrastructure, Gates and Farmer discuss how to improve health systems and make health care more accessible for the world's poor.
When asked how human-centered design is manifesting in low-resource settings, Farmer says:
In Haiti I would see people sleeping outside the hospital with their donkey saddle under their neck — they’d been waiting there for days. And no one was asking them, “What are you eating while you’re waiting? What is your family eating while you’re gone?” We have to design a health delivery system by actually talking to people and asking, “What would make this service better for you?” As soon as you start asking, you get a flood of answers.
