» My Inspiration for Global Health: Dr. Paul Farmer

By Vanessa Coleman ‘10

Photo credit: Moupali Das

If someone asked me what is the most influential book for my career I would have to name Mountains Beyond Mountains written by Tracy Kidder about Dr. Paul Farmer, a global health physician. I have always been extremely inspired by Dr. Paul Farmer’s tenacity in working for the poor through medicine. When I first read this book, I, like most teens of my generation, was highly motivated to pursue socially conscious work but I had no idea of how I wanted to go about doing it. Farmer’s work helped me come to the conclusion that I could use medicine, which was something I was already passionate about, to not only cure some of the health disparities around the world but in doing so also work on some of the socioeconomic disparities. Dr. Paul Farmer has a amazing ability to see to the heart of many of the global health crises of our time - from tuberculosis to AIDS, he is always looking for the real, not always easy answer and this is a real inspiration to me.

So when I heard through CHI and the Global Health Minor program about the opportunity to speak with him through a webcast from Weill Cornell Medical school, I was so excited! And he surpassed my expectations by far! From his constructive criticism of the World Health Organization’s cynical response to Drug Resistant Tuberculosis to his encouragement of global development with global health, he proved that he not only has compassion but great inisights into these problems. He asks the tough questions like “Why do drugs cost so much?” But he proves that he can also go beyond these questions to real action. He persuaded the pharmacuetical giant Eli Lily, to donate millions of dollars worth of tuberculosis drugs to developing countries. But he did not stop with asking only drug companies what socially responsible steps they could take - he was frank enough to ask research universities (even while he is speaking to them) that they should consider playing a larger role in global health and development as a RESPONSIBILITY and not a extraneous endeavor. Dr. Farmer’s unabashed quest for ending suffering shines through in everything he does but that is just part of what makes him a good leader. In the end it is his ability to see the true priorities in health care and just about life in general.

At the end of the day, he is so effective in his work simply because he has his priorities straight. His patients are his first priority, not beauracracy, and he is always willing to do what is necessary to work on their behalf, whether it is requesting free drugs from Eli Lily or requesting more involvement from research universities in global health. It is this quality that makes Dr. Paul Farmer more than just a physician but a real healer.

» Globalization of biosecurity concerns

By Katie Bradford ‘10

In recent years, national attention to biosecurity has dealt mainly with fears of bioterrorism. However, a lecture by Dr. Alfonso Torres, as a part of Cornell’s Fall 2007 Global Health Lecture Series, reveals the depth and scope of this issue as it affects the world as a whole. In this lecture, Dr. Torres focused on zoonotic diseases, those that may be transmitted between animals and humans, and the challenges faced by the veterinary profession as concerns about animal and human health take on international importance. However, he offers hope to listeners, in that a broad-reaching education about the issues surrounding biosecurity has promise of helping the situation.

Beyond bioterrorism, what are the implications of biosecurity? Biosecurity involves the public policies, regulatory systems, and controls created for the protection of humans, animals, and plants with the goal of preventing, controlling, and eliminating risks to life and health. Biosecurity concerns have deep roots in society and have been addressed from various angles in relatively recent history. In the 1890s, Dr. James Law and later in the 1960s, Dr. Calvin Schwabe championed the “One Health” concept, incorporating human and veterinary medicine into the study of zoonotic diseases. Another model, called “One World – One Health” established an inseparable link between humans, animals, and wildlife. Most recently, the conception of “Global Health” examines health issues with an interdisciplinary approach incorporating biological, economical, social, educational, and environmental causes and implications.

Dr. Torres highlighted a number of modern issues that relate directly to the issue of zoonotic diseases and their implications on global health. He pointed out that HIV/AIDS is a disease that originated in monkeys and was passed to humans, with devastating results. Another modern example involves worldwide, wildlife markets, which create opportunities for disease transmission as animals not native to the area come into close contact with one another. For a recent example, look no further than SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome). Though not fully understood, SARS is known to have originated as an animal virus transmitted by animals, particularly birds, traded by people in these undesirable conditions. Dr. Torres also emphasized the point that zoonotic diseases do not necessarily only travel from animals to humans. Indeed, diseases spread from humans to animals, a condition known as anthrozooponosis, which can also have devastating ecological and agricultural impacts.

Dr. Torres concluded his lecture with a number of points, reinforcing the messages he wanted the audience to take away from the seminar. First of all, the historical dependence of humans on animals will continue into the future. Also, animal disease outbreaks will continue to increase based on current increases in animal populations, poor production technologies, and deficient veterinary services. With this increase in animal diseases, zoonotic diseases will also increase in number. Environmental degradation and global warming will likely contribute to the spread of such diseases.

Thus, Dr. Torres discusses the need for increased national and international interagency and interdisciplinary cooperation encompassing animal, human, and wildlife health. He advocates better preparation for response to emergencies on national and international levels. Ominously, he adds that we are overdue for a pandemic flu and warns that it is coming, and currently we are unprepared to combat it. However, he points out that the major problem facing many countries is that they deny that any problem even exists. Rather than helping the situation, this attitude only makes the issue more difficult to combat. Yet, Dr. Torres points out that funding to deal with these issues does not come until people start dying, and denial can no longer cover the problem.

So, what recourse do people have? Is there only a bleak outlook for the future? According to Dr. Torres, we may find our solution through increased education and awareness of the issues at hand. Only by making improvements to knowledge of the issue and the stakes at hand, can we address this matter to the extent needed. [Read Katie's full article in Vol. 2 Issue 1 of The Salubrion.]

About the speaker: Dr. Torres, originally from Bogotá, Columbia, served as Deputy Administrator for Veterinary Services at the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) from 1999 to 2002 as the United States Chief Veterinary Officer delegate to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). Prior to holding that position, Dr. Torres worked as the Director of the Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC) on Plum Island, NY, where he also served as chief of APHIS Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory. Dr. Torres has held various positions in academia, government and the private sector, on both a national and international level. In February 2002, Dr. Torres came to Cornell University as the Associate Dean for Veterinary Public Policy and the Executive Director of the Animal Health Diagnostic Center at the College of Veterinary Medicine. Recently, he became the full time Associate Dean for Public Policy.

» Interplast surgeon introduces photo gallery

By Amanda Lam ‘08

CHI has brought to campus Phil Borges’ photographs of Interplast’s work in Vietnam and Peru. Interplast provides free reconstructive surgery for children with cleft lips, disabling burns, and hand injuries. The guest speaker at tonight’s reception, Dr. Eric Mooney, is an Interplast volunteer surgeon who has volunteered with Interplast for the last ten years and has been to Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Vietnam, Bangladesh, India and China.

Dr. Mooney explained that he traveled in teams of twelve to fifteen people, which allow them to go into smaller communities, in the mountains or back water areas, where often no health care exists. Service trips are typically two weeks long, with eight operative days. With such limited time, how does Interplast choose who to perform surgery on? Dr. Mooney said their highest priority is infants and small children with cleft lips because they involve the lowest risk operations; the procedures involved are also the easiest to teach to local health workers. Next are those with cleft palettes, a condition that hinders speech and eating, and then those with burns or tumors.

Besides performing surgery, Interplast aims to train local doctors and nurses in certain surgical procedures. Dr. Mooney cited Nepal as a location where some of the local medical personnel have been so well trained that the organization is no longer needed.

The reception concluded with the viewing of the documentary “A Story of Healing”, which followed a team of Interplast plastic surgeons, anesthesiologists, and nurses into Vietnam. Afterwards, the audience was invited to move to the Willard Straight Art Gallery to get a closer look at Phil Borges’ photographs of the people, young and old, whom Interplast has helped in Vietnam and Peru.

The photographs will be on display from September 4th to September 15th.

» Prof. Rasmussen speaks at gen’l body meeting

CHI welcomed guest speaker Prof. Rasmussen to their 2nd general body meeting of the semester. Dr. Rasmussen is a professor in Human Ecology, a member of the Cornell Board of Trustees, and a former president of the American Society for Nutrition. She spoke about how the extremes of nutrition of mothers affect their infants’ health, particularly in developing countries.

» Presentation entices Kenya 2007 hopefuls

Members of the Kenya 2006 Project Board gave a presentation at CHI’s first general meeting of the semester. They shared their eye-opening experiences and answered questions from the audience.