Dr. Robinson is surrounded by doctors and residents at Al-Thawra Modern General Hospital in Sana’a in 1988 on his first trip to Yemen.
The first time Martin Robinson toured a hospital in the Middle Eastern country of Yemen he was shocked. As an obstetrician/gynecologist accustomed to leading-edge facilities, it was as though he'd entered a time warp. Clinics were crowded and disorganized. Cats wandered freely around operating theatres. Sand blew in from outside. Adequate health care was impossible in cities, where there was one physician for every 9,000 patients. Rural areas, with sparsely scattered clinics, rudimentary equipment and insufficiently trained workers, suffered even more. Dr. Robinson set out to implement massive change. His efforts to improve medical care there were so far-reaching that he became a celebrity, akin to a rock star.
"He was recognized everywhere," said his friend Mohamed Basahi, a Yemeni geneticist who immigrated to Canada. "He left an imprint on my country that will never be forgotten," Dr. Basahi said. Dr. Robinson died of heart failure on Oct. 14 at his home in London, Ont. He was 88.
Education was not a high priority in the family home of Martin Lyle Robinson, but he possessed a natural curiosity. He was born on Aug. 31, 1926, in Thamesville, Ont. His father, Fraser, ran a gas station while his mother, Mary, cared for Martin and two younger sisters. Martin, however, was bright enough to win a high-school scholarship to Upper Canada College in Toronto. His small-town roots revealed themselves often enough at the elite school that he was bullied. He left before completing a year and, at the age of 17, lied about his age to enlist in the Canadian army. The Second World War ended shortly thereafter, but enlistment ensured access to a university education. Martin decided to pursue medicine. After attending McMaster University, he completed medical training at the University of Western Ontario. Once again he won a scholarship, this time to study under Sir John Stallworthy, a renowned obstetrician/gynecologist in Oxford, England. Dr. Robinson's wife, Pauline, a business student from university days, accompanied him. They'd married in 1953, and had four daughters. The couple lived briefly in Winnipeg, eventually settling in London, Ont., where Dr. Robinson established a busy private practice.
Fascinated by the Middle East, an interest he attributed to childhood reading of The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1001 Nights, Dr. Robinson accepted an invitation from the Saudi government to visit the military hospital in Jeddah. Beginning in 1977, he travelled to Saudi Arabia many times as a visiting professor and external examiner for Saudi medical students. But it wasn't until 1986, during a chance meeting on a plane, that Dr. Robinson became fully aware of Yemen, a politically turbulent country of 21 million people, bordering the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.
The passenger beside him was a Saudi pediatric surgeon who'd been making weekly visits to Sana'a, the capital of Yemen, where he operated on infants. During their conversation, the surgeon described deplorable medical facilities in Yemen, and the high incidence of maternal and newborn deaths. He encouraged Dr. Robinson to visit (he would be the first Western physician to do so), and subsequently arranged for him to spend time in the country's only teaching hospital as a visiting professor. A medical emergency intervened. In 1987, having suffered from angina, Dr. Robinson underwent heart bypass surgery. It forced him to retire from the demands of private practice, although he continued to teach at the University of Western Ontario. By this time, Dr. Robinson had divorced his wife of 25 years. His new partner was Ann Mackenzie, also divorced with four children. The two remained devoted, seeing each other daily but maintaining separate residences for 38 years. "We were the envy of our friends," she said.
In 1988, Dr. Robinson and Ms. Mackenzie took their first flight to Yemen. Upon landing she recalled the pilot saying, "Ladies and gentlemen. You can now set your watches back 500 years."
Dr. Robinson wrote, "Our first experience in Yemen was so profound, and the priorities so evident, that we realized that devoting our efforts to projects there could yield significant benefits to the Yemeni people."
Dr. Robinson visited Yemen a total of 23 times, frequently with his partner. He arranged for other volunteer doctors to accompany him and became team leader of the Canadian Medical Delegation (CMD). As the CMD introduced Yemeni doctors to the latest in surgical techniques, their motto became "Teach the teachers."
After Yemeni newspapers and television publicized that Canadian doctors would be holding clinics in various locations throughout the country, patients lined up for hours.
Dr. Robinson, who had the ability to attract co-operation from officials, persuaded the government of Yemen to set a high priority for the health care of women and children. Among other measures, legislation was passed to add folic acid to flour, a simple step to reduce the incidence of spina bifida in newborns.
With books donated from Canada, Dr. Robinson set up the first medical library in Yemen. He was instrumental in establishing the first oncology clinic, and visited a leper colony, where he saw 400 cases in one afternoon.
Knowing that leprosy is curable if detected early, Dr. Robinson instituted a widespread publicity campaign about warning signs of the disease. In 1994, both Dr. Robinson and Ms. Mackenzie were recognized by the Order of St. Lazarus for their contribution to Yemen's leprosy program.
Kristyan Robinson describes her father as a renaissance man who was particularly passionate about supporting music and art. His home in London, Ont., was a museum of modern art, oriental carpets and treasures collected on his travels. He called it his utopia. Work however remained a priority. Even as the end of his life approached he continued to teach medical students from his hospital bed.
Just days before he died, Dr. Robinson finished a book he'd been writing called Yemen Revealed. Kristyan Robinson said he wept when she gave it to him. The final chapter quotes one of Dr. Robinson's favourite sayings:
"Illegitimi non carborundum." The phrase, dating back to the Second World War, is humorously bad Latin for: "Don't let the bastards get you down."
Dr. Robinson leaves his daughters, Michele Robinson, Lisa D'Ariano, Megan Walker, Kristyan Robinson; partner, Ann Mackenzie; sister, Eileen; and numerous grandchildren.
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