Arms Trade Treaty Day 3: IPPNW Members Meet with US Ambassador Mahley

By Shannon Gearhart, MD and Hakeem Ayinde, MD

US Ambassador Donald Mahley (on left) discussing the public health role health professionals can provide in the reporting and monitoring of arms activity.

Today, we welcomed Kathryn Hawk, an ER resident from Yale University who has been an active member of PSR since medical school in Philadelphia. She joined other attendees including:
● Robert Mtonga, M.D., official delegate of the Zambian delegation, IPPNW Co-president and medical director of the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) Public Health Network;
● Donald Mellman, M.D., a neurosurgeon from Florida and IPPNW local leader;
● Cathy Falvo, M.D., former PSR-US board member and pediatrician;
●Maria Valenti, IPPNW Aiming for Prevention coordinator;
● Garrett FitzGerald, IPPNW Development Associate;
● Shannon Gearhart, M.D., preventive medicine resident at Mount Sinai School of Medicine;
● Omolade Oladejo, M.D., medical officer for the Nigerian Ministry of Defense;
● Gurshaant Singh, M.D. academic advisor, Monash Univeristy, Melbourne;
● Hakeem Ayinde, M.D., former medical officer with the Nigeria Police medical department

In the morning, several attendees met with US Ambassador Donald Mahley. During the informal meeting we discussed the public health role health professionals can provide in the reporting and monitoring of arms activity. According to Ambassador Mahley, collection of public health data on small arms activity, such as ED admissions of gun shot wounds, is currently sporadic and unorganized. However, the government believes in the use of data on the influx of weapons as an indicator of the amount of illicit trade.