Mountains Beyond Mountains: 8 key ideas
The core ideas of Mountains Beyond Mountains, each in under a minute, written in our own words. Want the full depth? Get the book.
- IDEA 1 OF 8
A doctor served the poorest
Kidder tells the story of Paul Farmer, a doctor and anthropologist who dedicated his life to providing health care to the world's poorest people.
Farmer believed that every human life has equal value, regardless of wealth or country.
- IDEA 2 OF 8
He built a clinic in Haiti
Farmer helped build a clinic in Cange, a poor village in rural Haiti.
It grew into a major health centre serving thousands. Kidder presents the clinic as proof that good care could be built even in a very poor place.
- IDEA 3 OF 8
Partners in Health spread his work
Farmer co-founded Partners in Health, an organisation that brought medical care to poor communities in Haiti, Peru, Russia and elsewhere.
It challenged ideas about what was possible. Kidder shows that the group grew from one man's belief into a large effort.
- IDEA 4 OF 8
He walked hours to see patients
Kidder describes Farmer hiking for hours over mountains to visit a single patient.
He believed no patient was too far away. Kidder presents this as an example of how seriously Farmer took each person he cared for.
- IDEA 5 OF 8
He fought drug-resistant TB
Farmer and his colleagues showed that multidrug-resistant tuberculosis could be treated in poor countries.
Experts had said it was too costly. Kidder shows that Farmer's team proved wrong the people who said it could not be done.
- IDEA 6 OF 8
The poor deserve the best care
Farmer believed in a preferential option for the poor, putting the needs of the poorest first.
He argued they deserved the same quality of care as the rich. Kidder presents this as the heart of everything Farmer did.
- IDEA 7 OF 8
He challenged global health experts
Farmer criticised experts who said treating the poor was too expensive.
He argued that health is a human right. Kidder shows that Farmer was willing to disagree with powerful people when he thought the poor were being failed.
- IDEA 8 OF 8
One person can make a difference
Kidder shows how Farmer's determination inspired others.
His work changed global health. Kidder presents Farmer as proof that one committed person can inspire many others to join a great cause and keep going.
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