IPPNW to Participate in UN Programme of Action

IPPNW to Participate in UN Programme of Action on Small Arms International Meeting New York City in July. We are currently planning events via our leadership with the IANSA Public Health Network to educate delegates and encourage policy changes to prevent injuries and death from gun violence.

IPPNW has applied for accreditation to participate at the United Nations Conference Third Biennial Meeting of States to Consider the Implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, that will take place in New York City between 14 and 18 July 2008. View meeting website.

As an international NGO with UN consultative status through both ECOSOC and the Department of Public Information, IPPNW has been a regular participant at UN-based disarmament meetings, including, in recent years, the 2001 UN Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons, the First and Second Biennial Meetings of States in July 2003, 2005, and the 2006 PrepCom. At the latter meetings IPPNW co-sponsored side events with the World Health Organization and also the IANSA Public Health Network (which we coordinate) on the public health dimensions of small arms violence. An IPPNW One Bullet Story from Kenya was shown on the giant screen to all delegates during the NGO presentation in 2005.

We are currently planning activities to educate delegates and encourage policy changes to prevent injuries from gun violence. [Support this Work]

IPPNW Presents 13 Papers on Violence Prevention

IPPNW members from 6 countries presented 13 papers and posters on violence prevention and public health at this year’s 9^th World Conference on Violence Prevention and Safety Promotion otherwise known as Safety 2008 held in March in Merida, Mexico. Attendees from the United States (including Puerto Rico), El Salvador, Nicaragua, Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia also participated in meetings organized by regional departments of the World Health Organization (WHO), the WHO Violence Prevention Alliance of which IPPNW is a member, and the International Society for Violence and Injury Prevention. We spread our message that “Guns are Bad for Health,” continued our discussions with the Small Arms Survey regarding future projects (they recently helped fund our African armed violence research project.), and released a Press Release in which IPPNW co-president Dr. Ime John called for more international donor investment in violence prevention. Seven IPPNW delegates received full scholarships from Safety 2008 to attend.

A special section of Medicine, Conflict and Survival edited by Medact’s Dr. Jack Piachaud will be developed based on several of the IPPNW papers presented at Safety 2008.

These conferences are excellent venues for networking and making important contacts for future work. Please keep our AfP network informed about other important conferences such as this where we can possibly present and advocate on our issues. [Support this Work]

IPPNW delegates to Safety 2008 in Merida Mexico with Jennifer Hazen from Small Arms Survey (third from right)

Discussing projects and posters at Safety 2008

Dr. David Meddings from WHO reviews IPPNW poster on African research project at Safety 2008

Aiming for Prevention

One-Bullet Stories show the human face of small arms violence

Small arms and light weapons kill an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 people each year. Hundreds of thousands more are injured, often with lifelong repercussions. Behind the statistics are the individual stories of people, families, and communities whose lives have been shattered by small arms violence.

A key educational tool of IPPNW’s Aiming For Prevention program is the One-Bullet Story (OBS), a close look in words and pictures, at the devastating human consequences of the global proliferation of guns and gun violence. The first One-Bullet Story was produced by physician activists in Kenya, and was presented to hushed audiences at the United Nations. “Linking dollars to human suffering strikes a chord with most ambassadors here,” said one UN delegate after seeing the Kenyan OBS. Since then, One-Bullet Stories have been created by doctors and medical students in Nepal, Nigeria, and Zambia, with more to follow.

The typical OBS documents in graphic, sometimes shocking, detail the nature and extent of the physical injuries that can be caused by just a single bullet wound. The complexities and cost of treatment and rehabilitation are then described, from the points of view of the victim, his or her family, and the doctors who must try to repair the damage. The psychological and social scars, which can persist long after the initial trauma, are also described. Each OBS concludes with a powerful appeal for primary prevention through stronger national and international controls on small arms trafficking.

To download One-Bullet Stories from Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, and Zambia, click here.

Click on the following countries to view One Bullet Stories in web browser:

Kenya

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Nepal

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Nigeria

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Zambia

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