Congress Speakers

This enabled them to not only raise awareness on the dangers of nuclear weapons but also urge the Kenyan government to sign the TPNW.

She is a humanitarian by heart, and a medical doctor in mind; who got involved in the fight against nuclear weapons and gun violence as she believes a ‘safe world is a healthy world’. Her desire is that all countries will sign and implement the TPNW for world peace.

He is also the recipient of the 2018 “Alan Turing LGBTIQ Visibility Award” for Social Organization.

Since 2013, he has worked by campaigning and lobbying for awareness on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons (HINW) and support for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). He has worked closely with governments as part of the Costa Rican delegation in the 2014 NPT PrepCom and the 2015 NPT Review Conference, and has worked with the network of regional peace organizations to organize conferences and roundtables on the HINW and the TPNW.

the Alternate Regional Representative for WILPF Africa.

She is a Development Practitioner who is passionate about gendered dimensions of rural livelihoods, environmental peace-building, feminist political economy analysis, feminist responses to climate change and challenging militarised political economies. Edwick is engaged in humanitarian disarmament activism, community peace-building, climate change mitigation and adaptation, anti-gender-based violence campaigns to human rights awareness programs. She is currently studying towards a PhD in Development studies, her thesis unpacks the agency of women from rural areas to the challenges posed by water scarcity to their livelihoods. Edwick has carried out researches on the participation of women in political and economic spheres, militarised masculinities in artisanal mining communities and the UNSCR 1325 and its implementation in Zimbabwe, gendered impact of climate change and militarism. Her recent paper published by WILPF in December 2022, analysed the impact of military expenditure which is placing the African continent at the epicentre of the climate crisis and conflict. Edwick has coordinated national disarmament advocacy projects for the prohibition of nuclear weapons and fully autonomous weapons since 2018. Edwick attended and gave a statement on article 11 of the TPNW at the First Meeting of State Parties in Vienna, June 2022. She recently attended the first African Regional Seminar on the Universalisation of the TPNW in South Africa, January 2023 where she presented on the trans- boundary impacts of the use of nuclear weapons.

In recent years, Lekalakala has focused in targeting environmental corruption. Her commitment to climate justice in South Africa has led civil society to win the first South African climate change legal case against the government and the reversal of the nuclear deal by SA and the Russian government of which she received the Goldman Environmental Prize for Africa 2018 and SAB Environmentalist of the year 2018. Ms Lekalakala has her roots as a liberation fighter is strong campaigner for a just and fair society.

He describes his visits to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1989 and to the downwind community of Karaul near the former Soviet nuclear test site in Kazakhstan in 1990 as “life changing.” He credits his grade school teacher Betty Jean Padley (1935-2017) for instilling in him a reverence for nature, an appreciation of Quaker values, and an awareness of the injustices inflicted on the first stewards of the land. Michael earned a bachelor of science in environmental economics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst amidst the dangers of the cold war, further shaping his interest in peace and social justice.

As a medical student she participated in the Nuclear Weapons Inheritance Project, including dialogues in China, Russia and the United Kingdom.

Dr. Mitchell has been an active member of the Medical Association of the Prevention of War (Australia) since 2004, and has served as Student Representative and Vice President of that IPPNW affiliate.

She has been involved in the work of the International Campaign for the Prevention of Nuclear War (ICAN) since its inception, and is currently Co-Chair of the Board of ICAN Australia.

Ruth is passionate about strengthening the peace movement around the world and ensuring our work is intentionally anti-racist, feminist, decolonising, and environmentally sustainable.

As an activist doctor, Ruth believes in the power of bearing witness and listening carefully to the stories from the bedside. Centering and amplifying the voices of survivors of both nuclear weapons and small arms is of paramount importance to her.

Connect with Ruth on Twitter: @drruthmitchell

I have conducted a research study on effects of exposure of aluminum bauxite mine on health of people and got the results that there are hazardous effects of it, so correlating it with nuclear weapons will definitely have dangerous and deleterious effect on health of people. My research studies were selected by ICMR- Indian Council for Medical Research.

I have attended the International seminar on The Landmark Treaty Prohibiting Nuclear weapons by IPPNW in Delhi and there I have conducted activity Bombs no more. I have also attended National conference IDPDCON in Kerala and spoken about effects of nuclear weapons. Recently, I have spoken about need of increase in Health Budget of India in national webinar COVID-19 – Health crisis and Arms race.

I am opening a FOODBANK so that anyone needy can take food from it. I also write poems and make paintings to spread the message of peace. I am also a National Kabaddi player.
In IPPNW, I can get a global platform with connections of friends and colleagues without any national boundaries so we can work together for global peace, under the guidance of our seniors in IPPNW.

“Rethinking security: from military to civil security towards 2040”, where she implements the link between the two major threats of the 21st century: nuclear weapons and climate change.

As part of her IPPNW work, Angelika specializes in radiation health effects and low-level radiation effects. She is the co-author of IPPNW reports on “The health effects of uranium weapons,” “30 years living with Chernobyl—5 years living with Fukushima,” and ”Nuclear power powers the bomb” (papers available on the IPPNW-Europe website). Angelika has also made medical peace work a priority, and is the author of “Peace through health as a modern approach of constructive pacifism.” She has been active in human rights work with refugees from war regions, especially in Iraq and Turkey, and has traveled to Iraq, Kurdistan, and Turkey, monitoring trials of medical human rights defenders, visiting refugee camps, and providing trauma therapy for torture victims and war refugees.

to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) – the lead NGO in support of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons – having served as their administrative co-chair in 2020-21. Before IPPNW, Chuck was a leader in US regional coalitions successfully opposing the development of nuclear energy and supporting the Nuclear Weapons Freeze campaign. He worked for IPPNW’s US affiliate, Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), in Washington, DC, as a regional coordinator from 1987-1990, serving again, from 2012-2017 as director of Oregon and Washington PSR’s nuclear power task force. From 1990-1996, he was executive director of Nuclear Free America, serving as UN representative for the International Nuclear Free Zone Local Authorities.

that led to the successful negotiation of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

The recipient of numerous leadership awards, Dr. Helfand has published studies on the medical consequences of nuclear war in the New England Journal of Medicine, the British Medical Journal, the Lancet and the World Medical Journal, and has delivered countless lectures around the world on the health effects of nuclear weapons. He represented PSR and IPPNW at the Nobel ceremonies in Oslo in December 2009, honoring President Obama, and presented their new report, Nuclear Famine: One Billion People at Risk, at the Nobel Peace Laureates Summit in Chicago in April of 2012. A second edition was released in December of 2013.

Dr. Helfand was educated at Harvard College and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He is a former chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine and President of the Medical Staff at Cooley Dickinson Hospital, and is a retired internist and urgent care physician at Family Care Medical Center in Western Massachusetts.

(ZHSR) which is the local affiliate of IPPNW.

 

It was through these positions that she came to understand the power of grassroots organizing and youth-led movements. As IPPNW’s Associate Program Director, Molly assists in coordinating our work on the medical and humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons. She also works alongside the International Student Representatives, medical student groups, and youth partners to raise the voices of young people in nuclear abolition. She currently serves as one of IPPNW’s representatives on ICAN’s International Steering Group.

She has been a peace advocate through IPPNW since 2013 and in the past has represented the organization as African student representative, Regional Vice president for Africa and vice chair of the international board. She is passionate about steering a more active nuclear disarmament campaign in Africa by bridging the existing knowledge gap in the region on the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons.

 

He has upheld peace, love and unity in his hometown following post-election violence in 2008 and 2009 by coordinating and leading peace and health initiatives such as peace walks, cultural events and free medical camps since 2017. He’s a peer-to-peer youth mentor and encourages and supports medical students all around the globe, through the IPPNW Affiliates, to take action towards peace and human rights.

He has also worked as Reproductive Health Rights Youth Advocate for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation – Kenya in 2018 and with IFMSA – SCOPH Africa.

He was the key person in organizing the 18th world congress of IPPNW at New Delhi in 2008. He is actively working in organizing South Asian regional meetings of IPPNW affiliates and to build public opinion through advocacy, lobbying and media interactions on the urgency of complete abolition of Nuclear Weapons. In addition he is actively involved in ‘Health for All’ campaigns in India by intervening in various health related policy matters through dialogue with the government. He has also been at various positions in Indian Medical Association and Punjab Medical Council.

He joined IPPNW as a student in 2005 and has graced student leadership positions as NSR for Nigeria 2006-2008, RSR for IPPNW Africa 2008-2010 and as ISR 2010 to 2012. David served as an at-large board member 2012 to 2014 where he concluded his last year in the board as the deputy chair 2013 to 2014. The high point of his involvement with IPPNW was the presentation  to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon of a petition of signatures by IPPNW doctors worldwide calling for an Arms Trade Treaty, at the UN headquarters July 3rd 2012. David also  pioneered the IPPNW Nigeria radio education project on armed violence prevention in 2009 that quickly became widely accepted and commended; he is still involved in the radio project. Most recently David was vital in lobbying his country’s  key officials to ratify the TPNW August 2020.  David brings to the IPPNW board a passion to bridge the gap between the global north and south in his contribution to the IPPNW cause. He also seeks to inspire other countries in the global south to sign and ratify the TPNW. Lastly, he seeks to inspire the Aiming for Prevention campaign in a world with increasing small arms violence.

Dr Juva has been a member of PSR-Finland since its beginning in 1982, has served as the chairperson for 12 years and is currently the chair of its peace group. She is the other coordinator of ICAN Finland network and she is also a city councillor in the city of Helsinki. Dr. Juva has two adopted children (now adults) from Ethiopia.

 More recently she worked as a training manager, health advisor and consultant, and for eight years was director of the global health charity Medact, the UK affiliate of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. From 2010-2012 she was President of the Conflict & Catastrophes Forum at the UK’s Royal Society of Medicine.

Presently, Marion helps run the Conflict, Humanitarian & Health module at the Institute for Global Health, University College London, lectures and examines at St George’s, University of London and for the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries. Since 2017 she has been co-editor of the Routledge / Taylor & Francis journal Medicine, Conflict and Survival. She works on health and conflict issues with a network of international colleagues including the War & Conflict Thematic Circle of the People’s Health Movement, and is secretary for Musicians for Peace and Disarmament.

 

• Between 1993 and 2000 he was one of the consultants for the Nairobi Study (under the Nairobi Consultants) contracted by the Ministry of Health. HIV/AIDS was his main domain in the study.
• In 1994 he also conducted a study of “Social Dynamics underlying Home Based Care for Persons Living with HIV/AIDS”. This culminated in a model framework for home based care in Kenya and marked the transition from institutional to noninstitutional approaches to management of HIV/AIDS.
• In 1994 he conducted the landmark impact assessment of HIV/AIDS titled “Needs Assessment of Children Orphaned by AIDS” The results were published in the book “AIDS in Kenya – Socio-economic impact”. The study was commissioned by UNICEF and culminated in the Sessional Paper on AIDS of 1996. It also had an extended benefit for Policy on Orphans. The study is widely quoted in both academic and nonacademic
  circles. The same year he conducted sensitization workshops on the
  situation of orphans and HIV/AIDS in six most affected Districts in Kenya
• In 1997, he conducted a rapid assessment on sexual practices in four schools in Bondo District. The study largely informed reproductive health interventions and approaches for the NGO community in Kenya. It revealed a serious gap in knowledge and practices among Kenyan adolescents.
• In 1997, he was appointed as the Secretary of the Medium Term Review of the National AIDS Control Program (NASCOP). The review largely informed the formation of the National AIDS Council. In 2000, he was appointed as the lead consultant to develop the HIV/AIDS Policy for the Kenyatta National Hospital.
• Dr. Saoke is an expert in developing sensitization and public education materials.

 

He has been active in the Medical Association for Prevention of War (Australia) since 1982 and a past national President; and was South-east Asia Pacific vice-president of IPPNW from 1989-93 and 2010-12. He was a co-founder and founding chair of the governing bodies of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) in Australia and internationally. Dr. Ruff was director of travel medicine at Royal Melbourne Hospital, worked on hepatitis B control, immunisation and maternal and child health in Indonesia and Pacific island countries; and documented the link between nuclear testing and outbreaks of ciguatera fish poisoning in the Pacific. He was Australian Red Cross international medical advisor 1996- 2019 and founding member of the WHO Western Pacific Expert Resource Panel on Hepatitis B Control. In 2012, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia “for service to the promotion of peace as an advocate for the abolition of nuclear weapons, and to public health through the promotion of immunisation programs in the South-East Asia – Pacific region” and this national honour was upgraded in 2019.

I am a very passionate humanitarian activist and have worked with quiet a few NGO’s within Nigeria and Borno State Government in tackling insurgency. I love socializing, interacting with great minds and meeting new people. Play badminton, hoping to be a professional though.

In 2014, I worked with the Borno State Government, on a program tagged ‘Borno Youth Empowerment Scheme’ (BOYES). It entails youths being subjected to military drills and certain training in fighting against the Boko Haram insurgency.

I worked with WHO in the campaign of the eradication of Polio in Nigeria 2016, titled ‘Operation kick Polio out of Nigeria’ where I served in the capacity of an Independent Monitor, shortly after i became the independent supervisor of the various vaccination teams. Not long after we had the last wild case of Polio in Nigeria, and WHO last year (2020) declared Nigeria Polio free. 

I have also been volunteering with Catholic CARITAS Nigeria since 2018, in responding to various humanitarian needs in IDP Camps and various communities of concern. I have volunteered with UNICEF in 2020 on Covid-19 Sensitization program, with Non enclosure Medical Frontiers (NEMEF).

I am also compelled to talk about my earned certificates in the Medical Peace Work from course 1 ‘Health workers, conflict and Peace’ to the seventh ‘Prevention of interpersonal and self directed violence’. This is a milestone achieved in understanding and solving diverse humanitarian problems, and I call upon all students and Peace actors to embark on it.