In Conversation with Dr. Keith Martin
Interview with Samir Gouin
Dr. Keith Martin was a keynote speaker for McGill’s 15th annual Global Health Night event, check out the recording here and read below to learn more about him!
Honorable Dr. Keith Martin is a prominent figure in global health and international development. A dedicated physician and former Member of Parliament in Canada (1993-2011), he has spent his career working to address the social, environmental, and political determinants of health especially for those living in low income and fragile conditions. He has been on numerous diplomatic missions to areas in crisis, practiced as a physician in South Africa along the Mozambique border during the latter’s civil war. Over many years, he volunteered on conservation efforts in South Africa. Dr Martin has been a longstanding advocate for action on climate change and the biodiversity crisis and has authored more than 180 published editorial pieces. He is the founding Executive Director of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) and his extensive work with international health initiatives have had a lasting impact on communities worldwide.
How has your background in family medicine influenced your approach to addressing global health challenges? Was there an experience/moment that prompted the switch from primary care to politics?
I had a varied medical practice; half of my time was spent in family practice, the other half was spent practicing emergency medicine in British Columbia, Canada. As part of my practice, I provided health care in a detox center, jail, and in clinics in remote First Nations communities.
Medicine gives the provider, privileged and trusted access into people's lives. It gave me countless experiences that informed my perspective on life and challenged me to try to be a better human being. I saw that the causes of why people were coming to see me in the environments I worked in far preceded the moment I saw them for care. The experiences I had working next to a war zone and on conservation projects impacted me personally and reinforced my interests in addressing foreign policy and environmental challenges. In sum, these experiences drove me to the inescapable conclusion that I needed to at least try to prevent this suffering and these threats. This meant addressing policy changes which thus compelled me to enter the political arena. I must say that this was to the disappointment of nearly everyone I knew.
What do you consider the most significant challenges in global health today, and how can these challenges be effectively addressed?
Dr. Keith Martin shared many challenges we face today in global health including the failure to build and sustain capacity in LMICs, weak domestic and international governance structures, disinformation, nationalism, the rise of autocracies, assaults on the press, and a lack of capacity in the public service. He also said that official development funding fails to invest in structural capacity building in low resource nations as guided by those nations. Deep inequities and power imbalances continue to plague international development. This often deprioritizes the interests and needs of the host nation which leaves many important challenges such as NCDs (noncommunicable diseases), corruption, climate change, the biodiversity crisis, pollution, water security, sanitation, supply chains, the digital divide unaddressed.
Dr. Keith Martin stressed that politics largely determine what projects/policies will be implemented. This has a profound impact on people’s lives. To address them and others, global health practitioners must become engaged in politics, leveraging our knowledge and motivation for change.
Can you share examples of innovative solutions or approaches you've encountered that have made a positive impact on global health outcomes?
Dr. Keith Martin shared many innovation solutions that have made a positive impact on global health outcomes:
Vaccination programs, the discovery of insulin
The Montreal Protocol designed to protect the ozone layer
The Carter Center's outstanding efforts to reduce NTDs (neglected tropical diseases) and their work to improved access to water, sanitation, and hygiene)
SOIL’s impact on the sanitation crisis in Haiti
Bolsa Familia in Brazil to reduce poverty (governmental social welfare program)
He also highlighted advances we have made in the sphere of global health over the last decades including the removal of lead from gasoline, protection of marine areas, development of vaccinations programs, universal health coverage, water fluoridation to prevent tooth decay, access to sanitation, potable water…
How can the global community better prepare for emerging health challenges and opportunities?
We should get politically engaged and involved.
Beyond this, the outdated models of academia and funding need to be modernized for the 21st century. As part of this, we need to learn how to communicate with the public, focus on knowledge translation and capacity building orient as much of our research to contemporary problems, and build intersectoral collaborations.
On a personal note, what experiences or moments in your global health career have left a lasting impact on you, and how have they shaped your perspective?
Many facets of Dr. Keith Martin’s life have shaped his perspective. His identity as an immigrant has helped him develop empathy towards others in similar positions as he understands the difficulties of integration. His work in British Columbia as a physician serving vulnerable populations have challenged him to become more understanding and grateful. His work in Africa exposed him to people who displayed extraordinary acts of humanity and courage despite being materially poor. They are standards grace that set examples to follow in our turbulent world.
A big thanks to Dr. Keith Martin for sharing some of his insight and experiences!