Nuclear weapons threaten everything you know and love.
IPPNW is the only international medical organization dedicated to the abolition of these indiscriminate and illegal weapons. Together, we have a common-sense plan for their complete, irreversible elimination.
IPPNW, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and Back from the Brink released a scientific report on May 19 that finds a proposed U.S. missile defense system—dubbed the “Golden Dome”—would leave tens of millions of Americans vulnerable to nuclear attack while costing trillions of dollars and accelerating the global arms race.
The report notes that a comprehensive system capable of addressing modern threats could cost as much as $3.6 trillion—and yet would never be 100% effective, leaving hundreds of millions of Americans in target zones.
Key report findings:
- Even in a best-case scenario, more than 300 warheads would penetrate the defense system
- 132 major U.S. cities could still be successfully targeted
- 75 million Americans live in areas that would be totally destroyed
9 nuclear armed states – US, UK, Russia, China, France, India, Pakistan, Israel, North Korea- possess approximately 12,000 nuclear weapons. These arsenals, possessed by only a few countries, have the power to destroy the world as we know it many times over. Only 3% of their nuclear power could kill up to every 3rd person on earth.
Around the clock, IPPNW affiliates are working to rid the world of the nuclear threat. Our affiliates know that the only answer to this existential threat is total abolition. We are hard at work to achieve this reality through the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Peace and Health Blog
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- Explosive weapons and the future of peace: why civilian harm anywhere threatens stability everywhereby Dr. Ghassan Shahrour on June 12, 2026 at 7:14 pm
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