Advertisement

Embrace The Idea of 'Accompaniment,' Paul Farmer Tells Kennedy School Grads

Farmer speaks of the term broadly in his address, but its origins are close to his heart: decades ago, in Haiti, he helped mobilize a cadre of community health workers, or "accompagnateurs" to help treat and care for the sick and dying in their own neighborhoods and towns. This model of using local health workers as a central component of any medical support team has been replicated in communities around the world: in Rwanda and Peru, for instance, and more recently in the poorest neighborhoods around Boston. In Haiti alone, Partners In Health trains and employs over 2,000 Haitians as accompagnateurs, and these health workers were critical during last year’s devastating earthquake and subsequent cholera outbreak.

“All that I have to offer you today turns about the notion of accompaniment,” [Farmer] said to the audience. “It is an elastic term, but here it means sticking to a task until it is deemed completed by the person that you are accompanying.”

Farmer acknowledged that the concept could initially appear unrelated to government, but said that it has far-reaching implications. He asked graduates to consider the potential increase in the effectiveness of humanitarian aid that is executed according to the notion of accompaniment.

“Many of you here will be soon leading foreign contractors and NGOs—if you are not already—and you will need to help these organizations find a way to accompany our developing partners and intended beneficiaries away from deprivation and suffering,” he said.

“Just because we can’t tangibly measure the value of accompaniment, doesn’t mean that we can’t use it in the service of the common good,” Farmer added.

This program aired on May 26, 2011. The audio for this program is not available.

Headshot of Rachel Zimmerman

Rachel Zimmerman Reporter
Rachel Zimmerman previously reported on health and the intersection of health and business for WBUR. She is working on a memoir about rebuilding her family after her husband’s suicide. 

More…

Advertisement

More from WBUR

Listen Live
Close