Two years ago, when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic, few among us could have imagined the ways in which this global public health emergency would affect us as individuals and communities. For CMB, an organization that relies upon collaboration, face-to-face exchanges, and candid discussions, the limited opportunities to gather in person have been a sharp departure from our past practices. Yet during these complex times, our history of collaborations and trust has never been more important.
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The world is mourning the tragic death of Paul Farmer, who died on February 21 at age 62. Dr. Farmer was a transformative figure in medicine and public health. A physician and anthropologist, he was a pioneer in the field of social medicine, recognizing that illness often has social roots and effective treatment requires addressing social structures as well as medical care. His career offers many valuable lessons for CMB Equity Initiative Fellows, and our 2016 Fellows (pictured at left) were fortunate to meet with him during their Global Learning experience in Cambridge, Mass.

The 2022 Prince Mahidol Award Conference (PMAC) was held virtually again this year (January 26-29), with speakers and participants from across the world. CMB has been a sponsor of PMAC for many years, linking this well-respected international meeting to our Equity Initiative Annual Forum. The theme of this year’s conference was “The World We Want: Actions Towards a Sustainable, Fairer and Healthier Society.”

The Equity Initiative’s 2022 Annual Forum, held virtually January 21-23, was a great success. With participation of Fellows from five cohorts and the thought-provoking presentations of invited speakers, the meeting reaffirmed the importance of our Fellows’ health equity work. The Annual Forum’s theme of "Improving Reslience for Health Equity" was the thread that connected presentations on the purpose and power of philanthropy, responding to health emergencies and humanitarian crises, and examples of health equity in action.