3rd Biennial Meeting of States
on the UN Programme of Action on Small Arms (UNPoA) and Light Weapons New
York City July 14-18, 2008
IPPNW members and associates
raised the public health message once again at the 3rd Biennial Meeting of States
of the United Nations Programme of Action on Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light
Weapons on July 14-18, 2008. Aiming for Prevention activists from Africa, Latin
America, and the US participated in the week-long conference in New York in meetings,
strategy sessions, panel discussions, side meetings and delegate lobbying.
Activities
included: * A very successful panel on public health entitled "Risk
and Resilience" attended by over 75 NGOs and others including country
delegates from Sierrra Leone, Zambia, Uganda, Canada, Nigeria, Iraq, Pakistan,
and UNDP among others as well as a wide range of NGO attendees.
* Release
and distribution of the policy
paper Prescriptions for Prevention: A Public Health and Human-Centered Approach
to Reducing Firearm Violence
* Dr. Diego Zavala from Puerto Rico spoke
for the IANSA Public Health Network (coordinated by IPPNW) at the NGO presentation
to delegates, where he presented on how public health approaches can help prevent
armed violence and called for more member state investment in health research
and education. He also reported on a recent small pilot study conducted by IPPNW
on violent injuries in five hospitals in five African countries, where it was
found that the probability of death due to gunshot injuries was 46 times greater
that death from other types of interpersonal violence, underscoring the lethality
of small arms.
* Dr. Robert Mtonga of IPPNW/Zambia served on the official
Zambian delegation and helped craft policy statements. Dr. Mtonga recently served
on the steering committee for the Cluster
Munitions Coalition that helped pass the historic Cluster Munitions Convention
to ban use of the devastating weapons in Dublin in early 2008.
* Nicolas
Marsh of IPPNW/Norway and PRIO served on the official Norwegian delegation.
*
Small Arms Survey released its 2008
yearbook "Risk and Resilience" which includes 3 chapters on public
health and was endorsed on the jacket by IPPNW co-president Dr. Vappu Taiple.
IPPNW contributors included Dr. Emperatriz Crespin from El Salvador and Dr. Neil
Arya from PGS in Canada.
Social events included a Central Park tour and
private reception for invited delegates at the home of Dr. Vic and Ruth Sidel.
Resources
Prescriptions for Prevention: A Public Health
and Human Centered Approach to Reducing Firearm Violence - (Public Health Network
Policy Paper) [PDF 825KB]
See
below for Powerpoint Presentations from the IANSA Public Health Network Panel
"Risk and Resiliance: Understanding the Factors that Influence Small Arms
Violence", United Nations Church Centre -- July 16, 2008
The Public
Health Approach to Firearm Violence - What is it, Why Do We Need It? Dr. Vic Sidel,
Distinguished University Professor of Social Medicine Montefiore Medical Center
& Albert Einstein College of Medicine
[PPT 7MB]
Aiming for the Right Thing: Collaboration for Armed
Violence Prevention Dr. David Meddings, Department of Injuries and Violence
Prevention, WHO [PPT 1MB]
Surveillance
Systems: The Role in Identifying Risk and Resilience Factors Diego E. Zavala,
M.Sc., Ph.D., Associate Professor, Public Health Program, Ponce School of Medicine,
Puerto Rico [PPT 1MB]
Aiming
for Prevention 