MEDACT
Encyclopedia
Medact is an organisation of British health professionals concerned with nuclear proliferation
and other problems of a global nature.
, Lionel Penrose
and others as a medical lobby for peace) and the Medical Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons.
Medact describes itself as "a global health charity tackling issues at the centre of international policy debates...[undertaking] education, research and advocacy on the health implications of conflict, development and environmental change, with a special focus on the developing world."
. Members have recently protested against the British replacement of the Trident system
.http://www.medact.org/wmd_nuclear.php
Medact has been tracking the health impact of the war in Iraq.http://www.medact.org/pub_reports.php They have issued a three reports and two shorter 'updates', have defended the Lancet surveys of casualties of the Iraq War and, as part of the Count the Casualties campaign have called for an independent investigation into increased mortality in Iraq.http://www.countthecasualties.org.uk
Medact has produced reports documenting the phenomenon of health worker migration from less economically developed nations to rich countries, which they describe as a "perverse subsidy".http://www.medact.org/hpd_brain_drain.php
Medact also work on the health of refugees in the UK, in particular documenting and challenging barriers to healthcare.
Medact have been involved in the Global Health Watch, a civil society project aiming to produce alternative versions of the World Health Organisation's annual World Health Report.http://www.ghwatch.org
Nuclear proliferation
Nuclear proliferation is a term now used to describe the spread of nuclear weapons, fissile material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information, to nations which are not recognized as "Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also known as the...
and other problems of a global nature.
History
It was founded in 1992, by the merger of the Medical Association for the Prevention of War (founded by in 1951 by Richard DollRichard Doll
Sir William Richard Shaboe Doll CH OBE FRS was a British physiologist who became the foremost epidemiologist of the 20th century, turning the subject into a rigorous science. He was a pioneer in research linking smoking to health problems...
, Lionel Penrose
Lionel Penrose
Lionel Sharples Penrose, FRS was a British psychiatrist, medical geneticist, mathematician and chess theorist, who carried out pioneering work on the genetics of mental retardation. He was educated at the Quaker Leighton Park School and St...
and others as a medical lobby for peace) and the Medical Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons.
Medact describes itself as "a global health charity tackling issues at the centre of international policy debates...[undertaking] education, research and advocacy on the health implications of conflict, development and environmental change, with a special focus on the developing world."
Recent Work
Medact is affiliated to International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear WarInternational Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
is a non-partisan federation of national medical groups in 63 countries, representing tens of thousands of doctors, medical students, other health workers, and concerned citizens who share the common goal of creating a more peaceful and secure world freed from the threat of nuclear annihilation...
. Members have recently protested against the British replacement of the Trident system
British replacement of the Trident system
The British replacement of Trident is a proposal to replace the existing Vanguard class of four Trident ballistic-missile armed submarines with a new class designed to continue a nuclear deterrent after the current boats reach the end of their service lives...
.http://www.medact.org/wmd_nuclear.php
Medact has been tracking the health impact of the war in Iraq.http://www.medact.org/pub_reports.php They have issued a three reports and two shorter 'updates', have defended the Lancet surveys of casualties of the Iraq War and, as part of the Count the Casualties campaign have called for an independent investigation into increased mortality in Iraq.http://www.countthecasualties.org.uk
Medact has produced reports documenting the phenomenon of health worker migration from less economically developed nations to rich countries, which they describe as a "perverse subsidy".http://www.medact.org/hpd_brain_drain.php
Medact also work on the health of refugees in the UK, in particular documenting and challenging barriers to healthcare.
Medact have been involved in the Global Health Watch, a civil society project aiming to produce alternative versions of the World Health Organisation's annual World Health Report.http://www.ghwatch.org