Effects of nuclear war on public health
[The following statement was delivered on behalf of IPPNW by Dr. Andy Haines at the World Health Assembly on 26 May. A WHA resolution calling for an updated WHO study on the effects of nuclear war on health and health services was passed by a vote of 86-14, with 28 abstentions.]
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985, firmly believes the health imperative to avoid nuclear war is as urgent as it has ever been.
Read more…[The South Asian affiliates of IPPNW have released the following statement on the ceasefire between India and Pakistan.]
We, the South Asian affiliates of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), the recipient of Nobel Peace Prize, are relieved at the ceasefire between India and Pakistan. We are further satisfied at the reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that there has been no radiation leakage from any nuclear facility in Pakistan. However, we feel that there is an urgent need to take steps for lasting peace in the region. We cannot ignore the possibility of use of nuclear weapons in case of any escalation in tension in future. The very presence of nuclear weapons is fraught with danger of their use. The hypothesis that the nuclear weapons serve as deterrent is totally flawed. Therefore, what is needed is that a collective effort be made to take steps for a lasting peace. These include:
1. Strengthening of SAARC for a persistent collective effort.
2. Develop collective security for the region to check terrorism in any country.
3. Joint monitoring of the situation in case of any complaint of terrorist camps or violation of international border by any country of the region.
4. Resumption of bilateral dialogue between India and Pakistan.
5. No interference in the affairs of other countries.
6. Declare south Asia as Nuclear Weapons free Zone and appeal to Pakistan to adopt No First Use of nuclear weapons doctrine.
7. The civil society in the region should become more pro-active to impress upon the governments for peaceful resolution of issues.
Dr Arun Mitra, President, Indian Doctors for Peace and Development (IDPD)
Dr Tipu Sultan, President, Pakistan Doctors for Peace and Development (PDPD).
Dr Kamrul H Khan, President, Physicians for Social Responsibility Bangladesh (PSRB)
Dr Arun Dixit, Senior Vice President, Physicians for Social Responsibility Nepal (PSRN)
Dr Asoka Hettiarachchi, President, Srilankan Doctors for Peace and Development (SDPD)
Find the press release in full here.
The International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) called for an immediate cease fire in South Asia after an initial round of cross border attacks by India and Pakistan early Wednesday morning South Asia time.
“Conflict between these two nuclear armed states carries the risk of a catastrophic nuclear conflict,” said IPPNW Executive Director Michael Christ. “The world might be lucky and dodge the nuclear bullet again, but we cannot continue to play nuclear roulette like this. The only way to guarantee that we do not stumble into a nuclear holocaust is to eliminate these weapons before they eliminate us.”
Read more…The world needs Hibakusha testimonies again
[Dr. Masao Tomonaga is the honorary director of the Japanese Red Cross Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Hospital and a survivor of the US atomic bombing of Nagasaki in 1945. As a physician, he has specialized in medical care for the Hibakusha, whose organization was awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize. A founding member of IPPNW’s Nagasaki affiliate, he is on the organizing committee of the federation’s 24th World Congress, which will be held in his city in October. We interviewed Dr. Tomonaga about his experience at the Nobel ceremony and his expectations for the Congress.]
Read more…Delivered by Dr. Ira Helfand, IPPNW Board Member, at the Third Preparatory Committee for the 2026 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, 30 April 2025.
Distinguished delegates, esteemed colleagues, and honored guests,
Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. I am not a diplomat. I am an Emergency Room doctor who has spent the last 50 years speaking with patients and their families. So let me talk to you now as I would to the family of a critically ill patient.
Because that is the situation we face. The world, for which we are collectively responsible, is in terrible danger. Nine countries, five of them parties to this Treaty, have chosen to build arsenals of nuclear weapons that effectively hold all of humanity, including their own citizens, hostage. They want these weapons because they make them strong and allow them to bully the rest of the world. They justify these weapons with the illusion that they offer security. That is a dangerous lie. These weapons are the greatest threat to our survival and pose an existential threat to civilization.
Read more…The limitations of military might
Although the statement that “power grows out of the barrel of a gun” was made by Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong, it’s an idea that, in one form or another, has motivated a great many people, from the members of teenage street gangs to the statesmen of major nations.
Read more…The Chernobyl nuclear disaster 39 years on
“Thorough studies conducted in the Soviet Union have proved completely nuclear power plants do not affect the health of the population.”
Lev Feoktistov, deputy director of the Kurchatov nuclear energy Institute 1985
“Nuclear power is the safest form of energy yet known to man.”
UK energy Minister Peter Walker, 16 March 1986 [1]
On 26 April 39 years ago, the worst nuclear accident so far exploded in Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. It was a Soviet-made RMBK, high-power channel reactor design that could produce plutonium for nuclear bombs as easily as it could produce electricity.
Read more…Meet. Talk. Eliminate nuclear weapons for good.
Three Nobel laureates, Nihon Hidankyo (Nobel Peace Prize 2024), ICAN (Nobel Peace Prize 2017), and International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (Nobel Peace Prize 1985) who were recognised for their work on promoting nuclear disarmament sent a joint letter to Presidents Trump and Putin on 28 April urging them to meet to advance nuclear disarmament. The letter can be found here and below.
Dear Presidents Donald J. Trump and Vladimir V. Putin,
We write to you as Nobel Peace Prize Laureates committed to the elimination of nuclear weapons. At this moment of extreme nuclear danger, we call on you to take urgent steps to de-escalate tensions and to engage in meaningful negotiations for nuclear disarmament.
The current climate surrounding nuclear weapons is the most volatile in decades. Alarmingly, we are witnessing a resurgence of dangerous ideas which had been relegated to Cold War history books: radical new calls for nuclear proliferation and the extension of nuclear deterrence practices. The expansion of nuclear weapons capabilities is not a route to safety — it only increases the risk these weapons will be used by accident or design. The only viable security strategy is one that moves the world away from the brink of nuclear catastrophe and prioritizes disarmament.
Read more…IPPNW European Regional Meeting Declaration, Geneva, April 2025
At this critical time in European and global history, the European affiliates of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear war (IPPNW) have come together in Geneva – city of diplomacy and birthplace of our federation 45 years ago – to reaffirm our shared mission: to protect life and health, prevent nuclear war and to work together for peace.
Founded by physicians from both the United States and the Soviet Union, IPPNW has always stood above political and ideological divisions. Today, as a global federation including affiliates in most Western states, in the Russia Federation, China, and many countries of the Global South, we are uniquely positioned to speak across divides.
Read more…
Bimal Khadka
Bjorn Hilt
Charles K. Johnson
Gunnar Westberg
IPPNW
John Loretz
Lawrence Wittner
Maria Valenti
mollymcgint
Sue Wareham
Tilman Ruff
Tim Wright
Xanthe Hall
IPPNW peace and health blog 