Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
Ira Helfand, MD, recipient of two Nobel Peace Prizes, will be speaking in Columbus on Saturday, July 11th at 2 pm, at the First Unitarian Church, 93 W. Weisheimer Road.
He is a member of the International Steering Group of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), the recipient of the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize, and the immediate past president of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), which was the recipient of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize. He is also co-founder & past president of Physicians for Social Responsibility, IPPNW’s US affiliate.
Dr. Helfand has represented ICAN at intergovernmental meetings to address the humanitarian impacts of nuclear war and at key United Nations assemblies that led to the successful negotiation of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
He was educated at Harvard College and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He is a former chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine and president of the medical staff at Cooley Dickinson Hospital. He is a retired internist and urgent care physician at the Family Care Medical Center in western Massachusetts.
Back from the Brink
As the world faces a seemingly out-of-control diversion of energy & human resources into warmaking, with the US planning a large uptick in the development of nuclear weapons. Dr. Helfand will outline the work of Back from the Brink. This organization brings communities together to prevent the growing threat that nuclear weapons pose to our health and environment, transmuting fear & anxiety into meaningful action.
Back from the Brink is a US-based grassroots coalition of individuals, organizations, and elected officials working together to rid the world of nuclear weapons and secure a set of common-sense US policies that will make the world safer, healthier, and more just. It was conceived & initiated by leaders from the Union of Concerned Scientists and Physicians for Social Responsibility in the fall of 2017.
Sponsors
Dr. Helfand’s visit is co-sponsored by the Columbus Free Press, Simply Living, and the Ohio Nuclear Free Network, with more co-sponsors to be added. The event is free. Look for registration information in the near future.
