Victor J. Dzau Distinguished Lecture in Global Health and Alumni Reception

For more than three decades, Dr. Jim Yong Kim worked alongside global health visionary and Duke alumnus Dr. Paul Farmer to deliver healthcare to some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable citizens. But that mission did not end with Farmer’s death in 2022. In the 2025 Victor J. Dzau Distinguished Lecture in Global Health, Kim will share reflections from his 40-year career in global health, which began when he co-founded Partners in Health with Farmer in 1987 and includes seven years as president of the World Bank Group. Kim, whose current leadership roles include serving as chancellor of the University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda, will discuss the critical work that remains to bring high-quality healthcare to every global citizen, and how emerging challenges such as climate change and the growing crisis in mental health require a renewed commitment to Farmer’s vision of global health equity. 

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

A physician and anthropologist, Dr. Kim’s career has revolved around health, education, and improving the lives of the poor. He is vice chairman and partner of Global Infrastructure Partners, a fund that invests in infrastructure projects across the world. He served as president of the World Bank Group from 2012 to 2019, overseeing unprecedented investment in development priorities aimed at ending extreme poverty and boosting global prosperity. 

Before joining the World Bank Group, Kim served as president of Dartmouth College and held professorships at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health. From 2003 to 2005, he served as director of the World Health Organization’s HIV/AIDS department. He led WHO’s “3 by 5” initiative, the first-ever global goal for AIDS treatment, which greatly expanded access to antiretroviral medication in developing countries. 

A recipient of the MacArthur Foundation’s genius fellowship, Kim was named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In 2022, he was named to succeed Farmer as chancellor of the University of Global Health Eqquity, a Rwanda-based institution launched by Partners in Health and the Rwandan government to advance medical training and research across sub-Saharan Africa. 

ABOUT THE EVENT

The Victor J. Dzau Distinguished Lecture in Global Health brings visionary leaders to Duke to discuss cross-cutting issues confronting health, equity and human rights around the world. A reception for global health faculty, staff, students and alumni will precede the talk in Duke’s Karsh Alumni Center. Both the lecture and reception are free and open to the public, but registration is strongly encouraged. Please note that this is an in-person-only event; however, a recording will be available on the DGHI YouTube channel a few days afterward.

Free parking will be available in the paved lot adjacent to the Karsh Center off Duke University Road. Overflow parking will be available in the gravel lot across Duke University Road.

This annual lecture is supported by a gift from former Duke Health chancellor Victor J. Dzau, and his wife, Ruth Cooper-Dzau, as well as funds from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Global Health Matching Grant.