Physicians Urge Governments to Act on Banning Nuclear Weapons

The global body representing more than nine million physicians today issued a strong plea to the governments of the world to work towards the elimination of all nuclear weapons.

The World Medical Association warned that the current state of world affairs made nuclear disarmament a more urgent issue than ever.

To mark the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons today (September 26), WMA President Sir Michael Marmot said: ‘It is vital that physicians around the world use today to reinforce our message about the abhorrence of nuclear weapons. The medical evidence about the consequences of using nuclear weapons is so horrific that nothing short of a total ban on nuclear weapons is acceptable.

‘Physicians and national medical associations have a duty to speak out about the catastrophic consequences of deploying these weapons and Governments have a duty to make the world a safer place. That means the development, testing, production, stock piling, transfer, deployment, threat and use of nuclear weapons must be condemned and must be halted urgently. Governments can no longer afford to sit back and do nothing’.