Ophelia Dahl on her Radcliffe Prize and lessons learned from Paul Farmer and her youth

Ophelia Dahl, cofounder of the global group Partners in Health, is the recipient of the 2023 Radcliffe Medal from Harvard University, awarded each year to "an individual who has had a transformative impact on society." Partners in Health builds local partnerships to address health issues. Dahl was hailed for her "unfailing optimism, clarity of vision and unsurpassed ability to get the work done." (Ben Gabbe/Getty Images for Greenwich International Film Festival)

"I don't think in terms of years," says Ophelia Dahl with a laugh. "I think in terms of decades."

It's two days before she is to receive Harvard's prestigious Radcliffe Medal, which has gone to such luminaries as Madeleine Albright, Toni Morrison and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and the health-care and social justice advocate is taking the time to sit in her Boston home and reflect on what she hopes will soon change in global health — and her realistic assessment of how long it will take for major improvements.