Nuclear Weapons

Nuclear weapons are the most destructive, most indiscriminate, most inhumane instruments of mass murder ever created. Their use – and even their possession – goes against every principle of international humanitarian law. In fact, it is likely that humanity could not survive a nuclear war using even a fraction of the arsenals in existence today.

Medact recognizes that the catastrophic health and environmental consequences of a nuclear war are at the extreme end of a continuum of armed violence that undermines health and security. We are committed to bringing a strong public health perspective and grassroots medical voice to bolster the international movement to end the threat of nuclear weapons. Medact is the UK affiliate of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW). We have described and documented the medical and humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons and have shown that prevention of nuclear war is a medical and public health imperative.

We are a co-ordinating partner of the UK branch of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, which was set up in 2007 by IPPNW. ICAN are calling for a treaty to ban and delegitimize nuclear weapons, leading to their global elimination.

Working closely with members of the Medact Nuclear Weapons Group, we aim to raise awareness in the health community of the humanitarian imperative to scrap Trident and ban nuclear weapons.

Every year we run an appeal on Hiroshima Day to enable us to continue our work to campaign against nuclear weapons and work towards a healthier, more peaceful world.