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MPW newsletter 07-2015

 
Picture of Klaus Melf
MPW newsletter 07-2015
by Klaus Melf - Wednesday, 15 July 2015, 12:36 PM
 

MPW logoDear MPW students and friends:

Social-economic crisis in Hellas, ongoing violence in Ukraine, and a humanitarian disaster without limits in Syria; these are just few of many saddening headlines. Luckily, there are health workers everywhere, challenging barriers to health, alleviating the suffering, and serving their patients and communities.

MPW has now close to 8.000 users and represents an ever-growing network of medical peace practitioners and learners all over the world.This gives hope!

Summer greetings from the MPW team,
Dr. Klaus Melf, MPW Education Coordinator

Content:

  1. Syrian dismay
  2. Ideas to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
  3. Twelve MPW case studies to be launched in September
  4. Conference announcement 'Globalisation, Refugees and Health', Berlin, 12th September 2015
  5. Conference announcement: 'Health Through Peace – Challenging War, Militarisation & Global Insecurity', London, Friends House, 13th and 14th November 2015

1. Syrian dismay

The MPW partner 4change has recently conducted an assessment mission on the Syrian conflict. They report that medical personnel and facilities are increasingly the target of attacks, particularly aerial attacks in Syria. In addition to having to meet the challenges of healing complicated injuries from barrel bombs, doctors and other health workers are faced with personal and patient safety concerns from these attacks. They are obliged to find and establish safe centres for taking care of the sick and wounded. These are now in caves, basements etc. to avert human and material loss. International attention must be paid to this blatant violation of international law, and world leaders must address this atrocity in a determined and systematic way.

Contact: mpw@legermotatomvapen.no 

 

2. Ideas to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

August 6th and 9th of 1945 saw the deliberate killing of several hundred thousand men, women and children. Most of them died due to the immediate effects of the atomic bomb blasts, others after long-time suffering. 70 years later, we still are threatened by more than 15,000 nuclear weapons, of which 1,800 are on high-alert status – ready to be launched within minutes. These bombs are many times more powerful than the two dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. With the signing of the ‘Humanitarian Pledge to fill the legal gap for the prohibition and elimination of nuclear weapons’ by as many as 113 countries, it is now time to start the negotiation of such a treaty.

ICAN has compiled a list of ideas for commemorating the 70th anniversary. See also www.icanw.org

 

3. Twelve MPW case studies to be launched in September

Early September we will launch our new MPW case studies, depicting challenging situations for health professionals in the search of preventing and reducing violence and other forms of power abuse, and of building trust, understanding, mutually enriching structures, and a culture of peace. The twelve case studies are intended to be used as the basis for group work and class discussion in both, formal and non-formal educational settings for health professionals and their students. Accompanying teaching notes will be made available for teachers and trainers.
Contact: mpw@legermotatomvapen.no 

 

4. Conference announcement 'Globalisation, Refugees and Health', Berlin, 12th September 2015

The MPW partner IPPNW-Germany is co-organizing a one-day public conference on refugee and migration health, ahead of a global summer school on the same issue. War, violence, poverty, no prospects, and a repressive political system are some of the forces that bring Millions of people worldwide to leave their homes. Very few of them reach Europe where restrictive health policies deny them adequate help for their physical and mental health needs. What can be done practically and what should we demand politically in our democracies?

More at: http://www.health-and-globalisation.org/global-health-conference.html

 

5. Conference announcement 'Health Through Peace – Challenging War, Militarisation & Global Insecurity', London, Friends House, 13th and 14th November 2015

Join our MPW partner Medact this year for 'Health Through Peace', a conference for health students and professionals to learn about, and engage with some of the most pressing peace and conflict issues of our time, including: nuclear disarmament; drones and remote warfare; the arms trade; the ‘War on Drugs’; gender, masculinity and conflict; the privatisation of war; climate change and conflict; monitoring the conduct and impact of war; and understanding the roots of war in the Middle East and Central Europe.

Speakers include: Prof. Sir Andy Haines (LSHTM), Richard Horton (The Lancet), Andrew Feinstein ('The Shadow World', author) and Vivienne Nathanson (BMA).

More information at: www.medact.org/peace2015. Download the conference poster.