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Follow the extraordinary doctors and activists whose work 30 years ago to save lives in a rural Haitian village grew into a global battle in the halls of power for the right to health for all.
Director: Pedro Kos, Kief Davidson
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Donate to Partners in Health. The organization was founded by Ophelia Dahl, Paul Farmer, Jim Yong Kim, Todd McCormack, and Tom White with the mission to provide a preferential option for the poor in health care.
Support international health organizations like IntraHealth, who help train and improve the performance of health workers and strengthen the systems in which they work.
Help train the next generation of health workers. The University of Global Health Equality began as an aspiration of Partners in Health and now has the opportunity to shape the future of healthcare professionals.
Advocate for policy initiatives that reflect the most pressing issues in the fight to address poverty. Join groups like Results and push for specific policies and legislation to address poverty by equipping people to engage in grassroots advocacy.
“I very much hope that the film will help change many of the conversations around what is possible, especially in the world of global health.”
Read the interview from Salon.
“I just want to share with you what I have been experiencing over the last five years in having the great privilege of traveling to many of the poorest countries in the world…”
Jim Yong Kim is leading a global effort to end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity. Don’t miss his Ted Talk.
“In the 30 years that I’ve been involved in the provision of health-care services to the poor and marginalised, I can think of no more dramatic example of a turnaround than that achieved in Rwanda.”
Learn more on The Guardian.
“A health system is only as strong as the health workers at its core.”
Continue reading on IntraHealth.
Partners In Health strives to achieve two overarching goals: to bring the benefits of modern medical science to those most in need of them and to serve as an antidote to despair
Learn more about the nonprofit health care organization Partners in Health and consider donating.
“The Ebola outbreak, which is the largest in history that we know about, is merely a reflection of the public health crisis in Africa, and it’s about the lack of staff, stuff and systems that could protect populations, particularly those living in poverty, from outbreaks like this or other public health threats,”
Watch the clip or read the transcript on Democrazy Now.
“The best medical treatment option in the world can’t save a single patient unless it is delivered at the proper time, with the proper plans and processes in place.”
Continue reading on The Conversation.
Learn more and take action at The World Bank
In his book, “Mountains Beyond Mountains” Tracy Kidder tells the story of Dr. Paul Farmer and his mission to conquer diseases among the world’s poor.
Listen to the interview with the author on NPR.
Watch the clip from the screening on Youtube.
Over the last decade in Rwanda, deaths from HIV, TB, and malaria dropped by 80 percent, maternal mortality dropped by 60 percent, life expectancy doubled — all at an average health care cost of $55 per person per year.
Read the article from The Atlantic.
” Viewed from a global perspective, the current U.S. healthcare impasse underscores just how poor health outcomes for people in the United States are when compared with other countries.”
Continue reading on LA Times.
"Their efforts — and their sometimes breathtaking triumphs — are the subject of a new documentary by Kief Davidson and Pedro Kos, ‘Bending the Arc.’ Using still photos, historical footage and interviews, the film follows the trio as they transform from inexperienced idealists to international health advocates."
Erin Blakemore, The Washington Post
"...the archival footage, the impassioned interviews, and the inspiring story of how warriors for solutions can overcome entrenched views on poverty and health, make for something genuinely stirring."
Robert Abele, The Los Angeles Times
"For proof that hope and determination make a difference, pessimists and cynics need look no further than ‘Bending the Arc’."
Peter Keough, The Boston Globe
"A feel-good documentary that’s literally about making people feel good, ‘Bending the Arc’ dives into the quagmire of global health care with the sunny insouciance and can-do brio of its primary subjects, the doctors Paul Farmer and Jim Yong Kim, two founders of Partners in Health."
Jeannette Catsoulis, The New York Times
