Dear Members of the HMS and HSDM Community:

Today I have the honor of announcing the establishment of the Paul Farmer Collaborative of Harvard Medical School and the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) in Rwanda. This long-term global health alliance is made possible thanks to a $50 million gift from Cummings Foundation, which will be divided equally between the two institutions to support joint activities.

Building on Paul Farmer’s legacy, the collaborative will catalyze the development of sustainable, equitable health systems that improve health care delivery to underserved populations. The work of the collaborative will involve the exchange of students, postdoctoral trainees, and faculty between HMS and UGHE; support research, education, and teaching; facilitate an annual global health conference focused on health equity, global health delivery, research, education, and social medicine; and provide clinical training opportunities for medical students and residents at both institutions.

Support from the foundation will also establish an endowed Cummings Foundation Professorship of Global Health Equity at HMS, which will be awarded in perpetuity to a scholar whose work focuses on global health delivery with a particular emphasis on research in Africa.

In addition to the $50 million gift to launch the collaborative, Cummings Foundation has contributed $2 million to UGHE to construct a residential facility to house and support faculty visiting UGHE’s campus in Butaro, Rwanda.

With this gift, Cummings Foundation is also honoring the leadership of Larry Bacow in this final year of his tenure as Harvard’s president.

An initiative of Partners In Health, UGHE launched in 2015 with catalytic support from Cummings Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Republic of Rwanda. Its academic programs include a bachelor’s level medical degree and a master of science in global health delivery. UGHE also offers executive education programs with a focus on strengthening health care delivery systems.

It has been nearly a year since Paul’s sudden and unexpected passing, which occurred in Rwanda while he was working and teaching at UGHE. Paul fundamentally believed that universities should be critical agents of social change and active drivers of solutions to society’s most urgent needs. This gift, and the establishment of the collaborative, embody this belief and Paul’s values. It is an honor for HMS to continue to carry on his legacy in this way.

Sincerely,

George Q. Daley
Dean of the Faculty of Medicine
Harvard University