A Moral Drive to Heal the World | Jim Yong Kim, MD, PhD

The Doctor's Art

Soon after finishing his first semester of college, Jim Yong Kim, MD, PhD excitedly told his father that he'd dedicate his life to starting a social justice movement. In response, his father sternly reprimanded him, saying that the only career he'd support was one in medicine. Dr. Kim acquiesced, but over the subsequent decades would hold on to this passion for social justice and become one of the most influential individuals working in global health, poverty reduction, and sustainable development.

He co-founded Partners in Health, today a renowned medical humanitarian organization that operates in the poorest areas of developing countries. From there, he served as advisor to the Director-General of the World Health Organization and as Director of its HIV/Aids Department. He would then serve as the 17th President of Dartmouth College, before being selected as President of the World Bank, a position he would hold for seven years.

In this episode, Dr. Kim joins us to discuss his unique training combining medicine with anthropology, the cultural factors that shaped his understanding of international development, how he spearheaded radical efforts to treat millions of HIV and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis patients around the world, the inner mechanisms of the World Bank, the moral philosophy that drives his work, and more.

In this episode, we discuss:

2:32 - Dr Kim’s motivation for pursuing both medicine and anthropology

8:04 - How Dr. Kim paired his clinical training with his passion for social justice

16:46 - How Dr. Kim stayed true to his moral convictions as he faced challenges in managing global crises such as the HIV epidemic in Africa

26:29 - The story of PEPFAR, one of the most ambitious initiatives to address the global HIV/AIDS pandemic pandemic

30:45 - How committing to moral justice can help people think outside of the box to meet the economic needs of a situation

33:36 - The history and goals of the World Bank

38:11 - How Dr. Kim prepared for his role at the World Bank, an organization that operates in many sectors in addition to global health

43:28 - How Dr. Kim maintains a sense of purpose and fulfillment throughout his career

Dr. Jim Yong Kim can be found on Twitter/X at @jim_yong12.

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