Paul Farmer Collaborative

Social Medicine

Health Care is a Human Right.

We build systems, train leaders, and partner with communities so that health care and social justice advance together — not one after the other.

We combine community-led practice, interdisciplinary research, and policy engagement to reduce health inequities driven by poverty, racism, displacement, and political marginalization. Our work is inspired by the conviction that excellent clinical care must be paired with structural change — and that communities must lead the design of the solutions that affect them.

Read More about the PFC's focus on Social Medicine

We design and support health programs that are rooted in local knowledge, responsive to social and economic realities, and accountable to the people they serve. Projects range from community health worker programs and mobile clinics to integrated social-support hubs that connect patients with housing, legal aid, and livelihoods.
Outcomes we prioritize: equitable access, culturally respectful care, measurable reductions in preventable illness, and strengthened local health systems.

We conduct participatory, policy-relevant research that translates lived experience into evidence for change. Our teams bring together clinicians, anthropologists, epidemiologists, economists, and community researchers to measure the social drivers of illness and test interventions that target them.
Typical activities: co-designed evaluations, mixed-methods fieldwork, cost-effectiveness studies, and rapid-policy briefs that inform local and national decision-making.
Education, advocacy & leadership
We train the next generation of clinicians, community leaders, and policy-makers in social medicine — teaching how to diagnose social causes of disease, design systems-level interventions, and advocate for structural solutions. We also develop policy campaigns that move evidence into law and practice.
Offerings: fellowships, short courses, community workshops, policy roundtables, and toolkits for frontline workers.

We train the next generation of clinicians, community leaders, and policy-makers in social medicine — teaching how to diagnose social causes of disease, design systems-level interventions, and advocate for structural solutions. We also develop policy campaigns that move evidence into law and practice.
Offerings: fellowships, short courses, community workshops, policy roundtables, and toolkits for frontline workers.

We design and support health programs that are rooted in local knowledge, responsive to social and economic realities, and accountable to the people they serve. Projects range from community health worker programs and mobile clinics to integrated social-support hubs that connect patients with housing, legal aid, and livelihoods.
Outcomes we prioritize: equitable access, culturally respectful care, measurable reductions in preventable illness, and strengthened local health systems.

We conduct participatory, policy-relevant research that translates lived experience into evidence for change. Our teams bring together clinicians, anthropologists, epidemiologists, economists, and community researchers to measure the social drivers of illness and test interventions that target them.
Typical activities: co-designed evaluations, mixed-methods fieldwork, cost-effectiveness studies, and rapid-policy briefs that inform local and national decision-making.
Education, advocacy & leadership
We train the next generation of clinicians, community leaders, and policy-makers in social medicine — teaching how to diagnose social causes of disease, design systems-level interventions, and advocate for structural solutions. We also develop policy campaigns that move evidence into law and practice.
Offerings: fellowships, short courses, community workshops, policy roundtables, and toolkits for frontline workers.

We train the next generation of clinicians, community leaders, and policy-makers in social medicine — teaching how to diagnose social causes of disease, design systems-level interventions, and advocate for structural solutions. We also develop policy campaigns that move evidence into law and practice.
Offerings: fellowships, short courses, community workshops, policy roundtables, and toolkits for frontline workers.

“The essence of global health equity is the idea that something so precious as health might be viewed as a right.”

– Paul Farmer