Last December, in lieu of our annual Berggruen Prize Gala, we announced the selection of medical anthropologist Dr. Paul Farmer as the winner of the 2020 Berggruen Prize for Philosophy & Culture. To celebrate Dr. Farmer and his ideas and work in improving global public health equity, we have partnered with the BBC for an hour-long special on BBC World Service Radio. Presented by BBC correspondent Razia Iqbal in collaboration with the Berggruen Institute, A Right to Health aired on Saturday, June 26 honoring the work of Dr. Farmer and featuring a conversation about the world’s most pressing public health issues.
Melinda French Gates, Co-Chair and Trustee of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Dr. Andrew Goddard, President of the Royal College of Physicians; and other leading names in philanthropy, medicine, and humanitarian aid joined the discussion.
Dr. Farmer also took questions from members of the public from around the world, including China, India, Nigeria, the Gaza strip, United Kingdom, and the United States. Questions such as: How can we afford to take care of our elderly populations? Can the battles against tuberculosis and malaria be won? How has the pandemic affected our mental health? Why are some people in the United States still suffering with substandard levels of water supplies and poor sanitation?
Please click here to listen to the full conversation.