By Isaac Salima:
The Health and Rights Education Programme (Hrep Malawi) has joined scores of people and organisations in describing veteran paediatrician Robin Lumb Broadhead, who died on Sunday, as a dedicated doctor.
In a statement, Hrep says the British paediatrician, who arrived in the late 1980s, dedicated his life to establishing the country’s first medical school and mentoring its future leaders.
The organisation says Broadhead was a ‘founding father’ of what is now the Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (Kuhes).
“He was among the founding academics who established the College of Medicine (CoM) in April 1991. He served as the first academic head of the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, setting the original standards for clinical training and patient care in Malawi,” the statement says.
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It is signed by Hrep Executive Director Maziko Matemba.
The organisation has also praised Broadhead for what it calls his unwavering efforts in managing childhood illnesses and his close association with the Children’s Fund of Malawi, which he co-founded in 1992.
It says the doctor served two terms as CoM principal, a period during which, according to Hrep, he significantly strengthened the institution’s research reputation and international standing.
“A specialist in tropical medicine, his work focused on making healthcare accessible and sustainable in resource-poor settings. A paediatrics specialist and prolific researcher.
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“He authored numerous pivotal papers, including ‘The First Decade of the Malawi College of Medicine’, documenting the university’s growth despite political and economic constraints,” it says.
Beyond medicine, the statement also commends Broadhead for his integration into Malawian culture and his diverse talents.
It says he was a renowned painter and that after retiring from active medical leadership, he became a celebrated artist in Blantyre, often exhibiting landscapes and portraits that reflected his love for Malawi.
“He was awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) for his services to medical education and healthcare in Malawi. His name is immortalised on the Kuhes Mahatma Gandhi Campus through the Chimutu Building,” it says.
Among those he mentored are Secretary for Health Dan Namarika, Kuhes Vice-Chancellor Macpherson Mallewa and his deputy Belinda Gombachika, renowned epidemiologist Adamson Muula and former Dean of Postgraduate Studies Victor Mwapasa
