This is an I-Heart podcast.

This is Solvable. I'm Jacob Weisberg.

In my lifetime, too, and I'm 61, I have never seen this level of engagement in attention to the social pathologies that face us and also the pathogens that face us beyond the social pathologies.

According to the UN, disruptions resulting from the global pandemic

could push an estimated 71 million people

back into extreme poverty.

That represents the first rise in extreme poverty since 1998.

With every ounce of our energy,

we need to direct ourselves to making this a temporary setback.

Today, we're bringing you the first episode in our setback series,

a collection of conversations about the pandemic's impact on education, hunger, and, of course, global health.

And it's fitting that we're starting today with one of my personal heroes, Dr. Paul Farmer.

As much as anyone I can think of, Farmer has changed the way the world looks at the unequal

distribution of health care. He has spent the last 40 years committed to improving

health equity across the world, most notably establishing long-running

medical support services for communities in Haiti and Rwanda. He's the author of a fascinating

new book that I'd call a medical and moral thriller. It's titled Feevers, Feuds, and Diamonds,

about the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

It's intensely relevant to understanding the global impact of COVID-19.

Everyone knows that COVID vaccines are being distributed unequally.

What's less appreciated is that disruptions from the pandemic

are increasing inequality in the distribution of other health resources.

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