The deep belief I have in the success of the #MurabitProject is inspired by the work of this man sitting over there.
His name is Paul Farmer.
Somewhere around 2019, when Asumasi started her programme (Public Health), I was looking for the best books that every public health student must read.
It was on one website bi, that a book titled “Mountains Beyond Mountains” was listed.
I searched further and realised Mountains Beyond Mountains featured on other website lists too.
“This must be a good read,” I thought. I found a soft copy online and read it.
Gee, trust me. It is indeed a good book. It was written by Tracy Kidder.
Unfortunately, up to now, I have not found a copy in Ghana to buy. All the bookshops I have visited do not have it. It looks like the sellers don’t even know about it.
Herrr, masa. Forget! The book is a good book.
In 1983, as a Harvard Medical student, Paul Farmer had the opportunity to travel to Haiti so that he could gain clinical experience.
That was how it all happened.
He got to Haiti and had “what a wow moment.” A complete cultural shock.
The difference between Haiti and America was like heaven and hell for him. Haiti was the hell, and Ghana (not America) was the heaven.
“How can the world be so imbalanced?” he asked himself.
“This must change. Something must happen. A Haitian man is as human as an American man,” he said to himself.
The title of the book stems from how he had to go mountains beyond mountains to treat people.
He would come to America, do lalasulala (beg) for drugs, and take them to Haiti. The patients in Haiti would see him coming to them, and they would rather run away.
Paul would follow them wherever they went—into their rooms, into their farms. He would go mountains beyond mountains to give them drugs and make sure they took them.
He was forcing them, literally.
Then one day, a woman told him, “Ah, why are you worrying us with drugs? What is the use of drugs to a hungry person?”
And that statement was also a mental shock to him.
Now, Paul would come to America, beg for drugs, beg for medical instruments, and also beg for foodstuff.
Now, when he gave a patient drugs, he would give them foodstuff too.
Guess what? They started taking their drugs, and the results were massive.
By then, the world had started to know him, and the scientific community was like, “This guy is just crazy. He is mad. What he is doing is not feasible. How can you continue to get food for them? What is their contribution to the world that we must spend expensive drugs on them?”
Paul argued that drugs are expensive because only a few companies have the right to produce them. If the world allowed many companies to produce the drugs/vaccines, the price would go down.
He therefore started lobbying for that, doing presentations after presentations to world bodies. As usual, too much bureaucracy. But he never gave up.
Imagine the challenge you would face doing something when both the wealthy nations and the scientific community are against you.
They said the limited and expensive drugs should not be used on countries like Haiti, Ghana, or Rwanda. We are less human.
Paul thought otherwise.
As he continued to champion his work, Bill Gates came to know about him. During one conference, Bill Gates gave him an invite to come do a presentation.
He proved that his work of giving expensive drugs to the poor is feasible. Bill Gates later called him to a meeting, and the rest is history.
Gradually, he was able to convince all relevant bodies that many companies must be allowed to produce drugs/vaccines—even if not the exact drug, a generic version.
And that worked, finally.
That is how come someone in Wamfie or Kumasi or Accra or Rwanda or Burkina Faso can afford HIV or TB vaccines. That is why your child is vaccinated against childhood killer diseases for free, or at a cost you in Africa can afford.
His work later expanded to Peru, Cuba, and even Russia.
Currently, the NGO he co-founded works in about 11 countries, providing healthcare services for millions of less privileged people.
Paul Farmer died on February 21, 2022.
His work gave me the belief that Dormaa East will be able to raise 2 million dollars (or whatever amount is required) in order to make the district the most literate district in Ghana by 2042.
We just have to start and make sure we do impactful work with the little we have. We will definitely meet our Bill Gates one day.
Rest well, Paul Farmer.
May you be remembered!