Nonprofit Leader Seen as Next Head of U.S. Foreign-Aid Unit

Paul Farmer, co-founder of the nonprofit group Partners in Health, seems to be among a shrinking list of contenders to lead the U.S. Agency for International Development, Foreign Policy magazine reports on its blog.

A spokesman for Partners in Health confirmed to Foreign Policy‘s Laura Rozen that Mr. Farmer met with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week.

Mr. Farmer, a medical doctor and winner of a a MacArthur Foundation “genuis” award, started Partners in Health over two decades ago. Best known for its projects in Haiti, the charity is credited with pioneering an approach to community health based on an understanding of the connections between poverty and disease.

Foreign Policy reports that the selection of Mr. Farmer could come with a reorganization of the U.S. Agency for International Development, with the goal of better integrating all non-military U.S. assistance.

One international health activist who spoke to Foreign Policy on the condition of anonymity said that Mr. Farmer might be appointed to lead USAID on a temporary basis, and then fill a yet-to-be-created position focused on global health.