International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) Aiming for Prevention activists from Africa, the United States, and Puerto Rico once again brought the public health message that “guns are bad for health” to the United Nations at the 3rd Biennial Meeting of States of the United Nations Programme of Action on Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons, from July 14-18 in New York.

IPPNW contributed a successful panel on public health entitled “Risk and Resilience,” attended by more than 75 NGOs and country delegates. 

IPPNW and the IANSA Public Health Network released a new policy paper, “Prescriptions for Prevention: A Public Health and Human-Centered Approach to Reducing Firearm Violence.”

The IANSA Public Health Network speaker, Dr. Diego Zavala, spoke about the need to increase public health approaches to small arms violence during the NGO presentation to the assembly of delegates, using as an example the recent 5-country IPPNW hospital-based injury research in Africa.

Dr. Robert Mtonga of IPPNW/Zambia served on the official Zambian delegation, having recently served on the steering committee for the Cluster Munitions Coalition, which helped pass the historic Cluster Munitions Convention to ban use of the devastating weapons in Dublin in early 2008.

More information regarding Dr. Zayala's Work:

Special Section: A Multinational Injury Surveillance System Pilot Project in Africa

Journal of Public Health Policy,  2007  by Zavala, Diego E,  Bokongo, Simon,  John, Ime A,  Mpanga, Senoga Ismail,  Mtonga, Robert E,  Aminu, Zakari Mohammed,  Odhiambo, Walter,  Olupot-Olupot, Peter