Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World

AIDS is an acronym for acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome, which comes after infection by the HIV virus through blood transmission, unprotected sex, and pregnancy. When the AIDS epidemic began in the 1980s, American experts blamed developing countries like Haiti for bringing the virus over from Africa, but Farmer notes that American sex tourists likely brought the disease to the island nation. Cuban medical authorities champion Fidel Castro’s foresight about the virus and its humane way of treating patients in comparison to American-held prisoners in the Guantanamo Bay prison complex, but Kidder argues that the comparison is unfair. While AIDS was once a death sentence, antiretroviral drugs now allow patients to manage symptoms for years after infection. Farmer prescribes these medications to Haitian patients for free despite their high price tag.

This is the principle that a project’s technology should be the simplest available. In theory, this approach makes it easier for developing countries to maintain and fix projects by themselves, but priest Fritz Lafontant tells Farmer that it means “good things for the rich and shit for the poor” (90). The explanation convinces Farmer to prioritize performance over cost as he steals a microscope from Harvard University over building the WHO-approved solar-powered model.