Paul Farmer Lectureship and Award for Global Health Equity 2025 ($5,000 CAD Prize)

In particular, the award is used to honor individuals (or couples) working in underserved communities whose work is often not recognized or made visible. They want to honour people who have been bold enough to "counter failures of imagination" and have lived a life of accompaniment. By modeling accompaniment himself, Paul taught us that our lives are in service of others.

Eligibility Criteria for Paul Farmer Lectureship and Award for Global Health Equity 2025

Eligible nominee:

1. Is a living person, an exceptional practitioner, leading impactful work to address health inequities in underserved communities in any region of the world;
2. Has a substantial, long-term track record of demonstrably improving health equity at the community level;
3. Is from any region of the world but nominations from the Global South are especially welcome;
4. May conduct research or lead an institution as part of their practice, but the award is not based on research track record or an individual's rank within an institution; it is based on practice or service that leads to improvement of health equity.

Profiles that are NOT in scope for the award include:

1. Academics researching health inequities, unless they also work on practice that meets the above criteria;
2. Promising trainees or early career practitioners;
3. Persons working on discovery and development of new drugs, vaccines or diagnostics;
4. Current McGill faculty or staff;
5. Institutions or organizations.

Benefits of Paul Farmer Lectureship and Award for Global Health Equity 2025

1. The Awardee will deliver a special lecture/oration at McGill University and receive a cash honorarium. In 2025, the honorarium will be CAD $5,000. Travel to visit McGill University will also be covered.

How to Apply

All nominations must be submitted via the online nomination form.

Nominators can anticipate receiving notification of the competition results from McGill in September 2025.

Nomination package (to be compiled as a single PDF file)

Self-nominations are not accepted. All nominations must be submitted by a single lead nominator who will take responsibility for putting together the below package. Nominees must be made aware of their nomination beforehand and provide their consent to the nominators.

1. Biosketch: A brief biography of the nominee that includes their contact information (email and mobile phone numbers) as well as a photograph (headshot). 1 page max.
2. Rationale for nomination (1,000 words max): What makes the nominee worthy of the Paul Farmer Award for Health Equity? Summary of the nominee's body of work and their impact on tackling health inequities in underserved communities or populations.
3. Short resume or CV of the nominee: 10 pages max (Note: While a short resume or CV is required, nominations will be accepted and encouraged on behalf of those who do not have extensive formal academic credentials).
4. Nomination letters: Two letters are required, one by the lead nominator and one by a secondary nominator. Each letter should not exceed two pages. Nominators must be able to provide objective evaluations of the candidate and their body of work, demonstrating the nominee's impact on improving health equity in underserved communities through evidence or citations. Additional letters beyond the required two cannot be submitted.

Additional Guidance on Nomination Package

1. Title the PDF file as follows, using the first name and last name of the nominated individual: “PFA-2025-Firstname Lastname.pdf.”
2. If any proposal section exceeds the maximum page or word limit as per the instructions provided above, the proposal will not be reviewed.

Please review the Frequently Asked Questions page before submitting a nomination.

Please direct inquiries to Kevin O’Neill, program manager, McGill Global Health Programs.

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