- Original name:
- Kim Yong
- Born:
- December 8, 1959, Seoul, South Korea (age 66)
Jim Yong Kim
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Who is Jim Yong Kim?
Jim Yong Kim, born in Seoul, South Korea, on December 8, 1959, is an American physician and anthropologist known for being the 12th president of the World Bank (2012–19).
Kim's early life included immigrating to the U.S. and graduating as class valedictorian. He then studied at Brown and Harvard University. At Harvard, he cofounded Partners in Health (PIH) with Paul Farmer, focusing on medical care in impoverished regions, such as Haiti. Kim also spearheaded efforts to lower the cost of treatments for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB).
As director of the World Health Organization's HIV/AIDS department (2004–05), Kim led the "3 by 5" initiative, aiming to provide antiretroviral drugs to three million new HIV and AIDS patients by 2005. Before becoming World Bank president, Kim taught at Harvard Medical School and served as president of Dartmouth College.
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What is Jim Yong Kim known for?
Jim Yong Kim is an American physician and anthropologist known for his work in global health and international development. He served as the 12th president of the World Bank from 2012 to 2019.
Kim cofounded Partners in Health (PIH), which delivers medical care to impoverished communities worldwide. He spearheaded efforts to lower the cost of treatments for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) and AIDS. As a director at the World Health Organization (WHO), Kim led the "3 by 5" initiative, aiming to provide antiretroviral drugs to three million new HIV/AIDS patients by 2005.
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What are Jim Yong Kim's main fields of study?
Jim Yong Kim, the American physician and anthropologist who became the 12th president of the World Bank (2012–19), focused his studies on medicine and anthropology. He graduated from Brown University with a bachelor’s degree in human biology in 1982. Kim then went to Harvard University for graduate work in medicine (M.D., 1991) and anthropology (Ph.D., 1993).
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Where did Jim Yong Kim work to improve global health?
Jim Yong Kim dedicated his career to improving global health through various roles. As co-founder of Partners in Health (PIH), he provided medical care in impoverished regions, including Haiti. Kim spearheaded work on multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) in Carabayllo, Peru. He also successfully campaigned for reduced costs of MDR TB and AIDS treatments. As an advisor to the director-general of the World Health Organization (2003–04) and director of its department of HIV/AIDS (2004–05), Kim led the “3 by 5” initiative, aiming to provide antiretroviral drugs to three million new HIV/AIDS patients by 2005.
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What was his role at the World Bank?
Jim Yong Kim, an American physician and anthropologist, served as the 12th president of the World Bank from 2012 to 2019. Nominated by U.S. President Barack Obama in March 2012, his confirmation occurred on April 16, 2012, and he assumed office on July 1. His priorities included aiding developing countries in their fight against poverty, creating support programs for the poor, and identifying and fostering emerging markets, particularly in Africa. In 2016, he was reappointed for another five-year term, which he began in 2017. Kim stepped down as World Bank president two years later.
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How did Jim Yong Kim impact health care worldwide?
Jim Yong Kim, an American physician and anthropologist, significantly impacted global healthcare through his work with Partners in Health (PIH), which he co-founded. Kim spearheaded efforts to provide medical care to impoverished regions, including Haiti.
Kim successfully campaigned for reduced costs of treatments for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) and later applied this approach to AIDS treatments. As an advisor to the World Health Organization (WHO), he led the "3 by 5" initiative, aiming to provide antiretroviral drugs to three million new HIV/AIDS patients by 2005, a goal achieved in 2007.
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Jim Yong Kim (born December 8, 1959, Seoul, South Korea) is an American physician and anthropologist who was the 12th president of the World Bank (2012–19).
Kim’s father was a dentist, and his mother was a scholar of neo-Confucianism. When he was five years old, the family emigrated from South Korea to the United States, eventually settling in Muscatine, Iowa, where his mother completed a doctorate at the nearby campus of the University of Iowa. During his youth, Kim switched the order of his name to Yong Kim, according to Western style, and added the first name Jim. He was educated in the local public schools; in high school he joined the Model UN (an educational simulation of the United Nations), played on the basketball and football teams, and was class valedictorian, graduating in 1978.
Kim began his college education at the University of Iowa but transferred in his second year to Brown University and graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in human biology (1982). He then attended Harvard University for graduate work in both medicine (M.D., 1991) and anthropology (Ph.D., 1993). At Harvard he befriended Paul Farmer, who was in the same academic programs and shared Kim’s interest in global health issues. In 1987 they and several others cofounded the Boston-based organization Partners in Health (PIH), which provided medical care in poor regions around the world, including Haiti. Kim also led the group’s pioneering work with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) patients in Carabayllo, Peru (a Lima slum), in the mid-1990s.
As an outgrowth of that work, Kim led a successful campaign for a drastic reduction in the cost of MDR TB treatments by pharmaceutical companies, an effort he later also applied to AIDS treatments. As adviser to the director-general of the World Health Organization (2003–04) and as director of its department of HIV/AIDS (2004–05), he led the “3 by 5” initiative to provide antiretroviral drugs to three million new HIV and AIDS patients around the world by 2005. (The program met its goal in 2007.)
Kim taught at Harvard Medical School from 1993 until 2009, when he was named president of Dartmouth College. His challenges there included a fraternity hazing scandal and a budget crisis; his tenure was considered to have been a mixed success. In March 2012 U.S. Pres. Barack Obama nominated him for the position of World Bank president. Although Kim lacked a background in finance, his experience in working with poor communities and his familiarity with development issues were considered assets. On April 16, 2012, Kim was confirmed as World Bank president, and he took office on July 1. Among his priorities were to help developing countries make progress against poverty, to create more support programs for the poor, and to identify and foster emerging markets, especially in Africa. In 2016 he was reappointed to another five-year term, which began in 2017. Two years later, however, Kim stepped down as World Bank president. His awards include a MacArthur Foundation fellowship (2003).