A community forum on the “Right to Health in the Shadow of War: Global Perspectives,” will be held Thursday, March 27, at 7:30 p.m. at the University of Iowa Hillel House, located at 122 E. Market St. in Iowa City.

This panel discussion, which is free and open to the public, will address the health risks of weapons proliferation and Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs). A reception with refreshments will follow the panel.

Panelists will include Ira Helfand, an emergency medicine physician and a national representative for Physicians for Social responsibility and Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War, and Naeem Zafar, a pediatrician working with child victims of war and Founder of Protection and Help of Children Against Abuse and Neglect in Lahore, Pakistan. Yashar Vasef, executive director of the Iowa United Nations Association, will moderate.

Helfand will speak to his recent work conferring with interested parties from 146 nations on the health and humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons and subsequent meeting with U.S. National Security Council officials last month.

Helfand has noted the importance of understanding the dangers of nuclear proliferation in the context of military activities in Syria and Ukraine, given that “the emergence of a 'New Cold War' gives urgency to the elimination of nuclear weapons and bolsters our argument that we cannot continue to ignore the danger posed by these weapons in the mistaken belief that we don’t have to worry about their ever being used.”

Zafar has spoken forcefully of the need to recognize the impact of armed conflict on civilian populations and the consequences of increasing militarization of international relations.

This event is sponsored by Iowa Physicians for Social Responsibility, Iowa Hillel, and the University of Iowa Center for Human Rights (UICHR) in the UI College of Law.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all UI-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, contact Amy Weismann in advance at amy-weismann@uiowa.edu or 319-335-0483.