IPPNW is the leading international medical organization dedicated to the global elimination of nuclear weapons. Since the dawn of the nuclear age with the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, physicians have recognized that the catastrophic consequences of nuclear war can only be prevented through the abolition of these weapons of mass destruction.
As health practitioners, IPPNW focuses on the humanitarian impacts of nuclear weapons and advocates for their elimination through the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). As new threats have emerged along the nuclear nexus, IPPNW’s work has expanded to respond to threats that multiply the dangers of nuclear weapons.
Today’s nuclear weapons are far larger and much more powerful than those detonated over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Nine nuclear-armed states possess more than 12,000 warheads—about 90% of them in the arsenals of the US and Russia—deployed on missiles, submarines, and aircraft. Thousands remain on high alert, ready to launch at a moment’s notice.
A nuclear war with weapons in existing arsenals could kill more people in a single day than were killed during the entire Second World War.
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Explore below to learn about IPPNW’s work in these areas.
Threat Multipliers
Existing and arising global challenges make the threat of nuclear weapons more dangerous, and more likely. IPPNW is expanding work in these spaces to build humanitarian disarmament work across fora.