Medics worldwide: news and opportunites from the IFMSA

Abstract

Sixty years ago, the atomic bombs that were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended the second world war. About 220 000 people died immediately, but the death toll eventually rose to about 400 000 as the radioactive effects of the weapons took effect in the form of diseases like leukaemia. Global public fear of nuclear war has receded over the decades, but the apocalyptic potential of these weapons has not. Medical students in Hiroshima believe that it is important to educate their peers around the world about the situation and …