The elimination of nuclear weapons is an urgent medical, humanitarian, and public health imperative. Learn more and get involved today.
Peace and Health Blog
- The limitations of military mightby Lawrence Wittner on April 29, 2025 at 1:00 pm
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. The rising spiral of world military spending provides
- The Chernobyl nuclear disaster 39 years onby Tilman Ruff on April 28, 2025 at 5:09 pm
“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
- Meet. Talk. Eliminate nuclear weapons for good.by IPPNW on April 28, 2025 at 2:59 pm
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
- Towards a renewed commitment to peace, disarmament, and cooperation in Europeby IPPNW on April 18, 2025 at 3:17 pm
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
- A different approach is needed for survival in the nuclear ageby Lawrence Wittner on April 4, 2025 at 6:45 pm
Amid growing international chaos, it should come as no surprise that nuclear dangers are increasing. The latest indication is a rising interest among U.S. allies in enhancing their nuclear weapons capability. For many decades, remarkably few of them had been willing to build nuclear weapons―a result of popular opposition to nuclear weapons and nuclear war, progress on
Earlier this month, IPPNW, ICAN, and Pugwash hosted a webinar, “Autonomous Armageddon: Nuclear Weapons and AI“, to explore the alarming dangers posed by the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into nuclear weapons systems.
The expert panel discussed the general and specific risks AI presents to nuclear command and control systems, the catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences of nuclear war, and ongoing initiatives to mitigate these threats.
On October 11, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced that it was awarding the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize to Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots group of Japanese survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, “for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again,” sending a message to countries that are considering acquiring or threatening to use them.
This recognition is significant and appropriate as we approach the 80th anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Hibakusha have worked for decades to bear witness to the horrors of nuclear war and are central to our common goal of banning and eliminating nuclear weapons.
In March 2023, IPPNW established a new office in Geneva, the “Peace Capital” of the world. In just a year, IPPNW’s presence in the center for medicine and world peace is facilitating our ability to better coordinate with the like-minded organizations. Major highlights include meeting with WHO Director General, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, to discuss the renewal of the WHO’s 1987 study, “Effects of Nuclear War on Health and Health Services”; coordinating more than 150 medical journals, including the Lancet and the British Medical Journal, to call for urgent steps to decrease the growing danger of nuclear war; participating in Norwegian People’s Aid and the ICRC’s NukeEXPO in Brussels and Oslo; and much more.