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In 2013, a multinational group of doctors, including 50 Americans, has launched a petition to President Obama to protest about the treatment of detainees on hunger strike in Guantánamo Bay. In the open letter published in The Lancet medical journal, they wrote that the detainees no longer trust their military doctors with "very good reason" and that it is imperative that they are seen by independent clinicians. The doctors offer to visit, examine and advise the detainees in any way that is acceptable to all parties. The petition was initiated by Medact.
In 2013, a multinational group of doctors, including 50 Americans, has launched a petition to President Obama to protest about the treatment of detainees on hunger strike in Guantánamo Bay. In the open letter published in The Lancet medical journal, they wrote that the detainees no longer trust their military doctors with "very good reason" and that it is imperative that they are seen by independent clinicians. The doctors offer to visit, examine and advise the detainees in any way that is acceptable to all parties. The petition was initiated by Medact.
<ref name= "2013 Hunger-strike Petition"> https://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/alison-whyte/more-than-150-medics-urge-obama-to-let-them-treat-guantánamo-hunger-strikers </ref>


==Medact's history==
==Medact's history==

Revision as of 09:00, 23 September 2015

Medact
Founded1992 (1992)
TypeCharity for health professionals
Location
Area served
Worldwide
Members1500
Websitemedact.org

Medact is an organisation of British health professionals that works in such areas as climate change, human rights or disarmament. [1]

Medact's recent actions

Medact recently coordinated with the Climate and Health Council the publication of an open letter asking the multi-billion pound health charity, the Wellcome Trust, to move its money out of fossil fuels on ethical grounds.The letter invokes one of the foremost principles of medical ethics, asking the Trust to “do no harm” because of the current and future impacts of climate change on global public health. Close to 1,000 health professionals from around the world have thrown their weight behind this lette. The 946 signatories to the letter span the health profession and include nurses, academics, therapists, doctors, students, retired practitioners and dentists. [2]

In 2014, Medact started a global health lectures series entitled Global Health Justice, in partnership with Queen Mary University, London. The series attracted over 300 attendees and aimed to explain the interconnected nature of topics of Medact's campaigns. Speakers included experts from several academic fields, medical journalists and health campaigners. GHJ aimed to bring a social science and humanities perspective to global health and provide a space for students, campaigners and academics to discuss, debate and exchange ideas that will challenge and push forward both research and policy. [3]

In 2013, a multinational group of doctors, including 50 Americans, has launched a petition to President Obama to protest about the treatment of detainees on hunger strike in Guantánamo Bay. In the open letter published in The Lancet medical journal, they wrote that the detainees no longer trust their military doctors with "very good reason" and that it is imperative that they are seen by independent clinicians. The doctors offer to visit, examine and advise the detainees in any way that is acceptable to all parties. The petition was initiated by Medact. [4]

Medact's history

Pamphlet: The medical consequences of nuclear war.

Medact grew out of the medical peace movement of the 1950s and 1960s. It was formed in 1992 following the merger of two older organisations: the Medical Association for the Prevention of War (MAPW) and the Medical Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons (MCANW). Members protested against the British replacement of the Trident system. Medact and its predecessor organisations have their archive housed at the Wellcome Library and Bradford University, to find out more about these materials please visit our Archive page. Medact is affiliated to International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. [5]

Medact's previous work

Medact has been tracking the health impact of the war in Iraq.[6] 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.[7]

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".[8]

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.[9]

References

  1. ^ http://www.bmj.com/content/350/bmj.h600
  2. ^ http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/aug/14/wellcome-trust-urged-to-divest-fossil-fuels-health-professionals
  3. ^ http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/events/2014/09/global-health-justice-harnessing-academia-to-policy-and-politics
  4. ^ https://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/alison-whyte/more-than-150-medics-urge-obama-to-let-them-treat-guantánamo-hunger-strikers
  5. ^ http://www.medact.org/wmd_nuclear.php
  6. ^ http://www.medact.org/pub_reports.php
  7. ^ countthecasualties.org.uk
  8. ^ http://www.medact.org/hpd_brain_drain.php
  9. ^ "ghwatch.org".

Collaborators

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