Beny Jene Primm (May 21, 1928 – October 16, 2015) was a prominent American physician, HIV/AIDS researcher, lecturer, and advocate for public health policy reform.
Primm was born in Williamson, West Virginia, and earned his Bachelor of Science from West Virginia State College in 1950, before moving to Europe to undertake graduate studies at the University of Heidelberg in Germany and the University of Geneva in Switzerland, earning his Doctor of Medicine from the latter in 1959.
[5] Primm was a leading figure in the fight against HIV/AIDS during the 80s, and an early proponent of preventative measures such as clean needle programs, personal HIV/AIDS status testing, and safe sex.
[6] From 1987, he served on the Presidential Commission on the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Epidemic under Ronald Reagan, where he personally added to the commission's 600-point plan of action a recommendation for treatment to be given on demand to intravenous drug users.
[8] In 2014, the year before his death, he released his memoir, which he co-authored with John S. Friedman, entitled The Healer: A Doctor’s Crusade Against Addiction and AIDS.