[Re: https://www.hifa.org/dgroups-rss/editorial-nuclear-weapons-and-whos-mandate ]
Dear Chris,
Thank you for your message on the multijournal editorial 'Ending nuclear weapons, before they end us'.
Below are a few extracts relating to evidence and the communication of evidence, with a comment from me below.
'Compelling evidence of the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear war, its severe global climatic and famine consequences, and the impossibility of any effective humanitarian response.
'Health professionals are well aware how crucial accurate and up-to-date evidence is to making good decisions.
'The UN scientific panel and a renewed mandate for WHO’s work in this area can provide vital authoritative and up-to-date evidence for health and public education, evidence based advocacy and policies, and the mobilised public concern needed to trigger decisive political leadership. This is a core health imperative for all of us.'
COMMENT (NPW): I would be interested to know more about the public understanding of the 'catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear war'. To what extent do we truly understand these consequences? I think most of us spend very little time thinking about it, and even less understanding it, viscerally. It is hard, perhaps impossible, to truly understand the suffering and the consequent breakdown of civilisation that is predicted by many experts. It is important that you conclude the editorial with an emphasis on 'up-to-date evidence for health and public education', but how can this evidence be better delivered? Can anyone recommend public health educational material, such as video documentaries, that successfully get these concepts across?
As long as the public remains uninformed about the consequences of nuclear war, policymakers will remain unpersuaded.
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org