On June 12th, 2009, Nigerian IPPNW students recorded the first of what will be several radio shows on radio station SILVERBIRD RHYTHM FM 93.7, JOS.  The show was entitled Bringing Peace to the People.  Below follows the script.

Script

Introduction

Speaker 1: Hello listeners you are all welcome to our programme which aims at prevention of violent conflict by educating the general public on the health & cost implications & at such encourage the need for peaceful coexistence. Considering the multi-ethnicity of our nation, particularly Jos, we believe this message of peace, violent conflict & small arms violence will be of immense benefit to those of you listening. Be it civil society groups, sponsors of violence, youths who are at the receiving end as well as women & children.

Speaker 2: We are members of the society of Nigerian doctors for the welfare of mankind, a non profit, non governmental body that preaches peace through health, demilitarization & conversion of resources for the betterment of the community. An affiliate of IPPNW, a federation of medical organisations in 58 countries dedicated to research, education & advocacy relevant to the prevention of violent conflict, small arms violence & trade, nuclear war & the paradigm shift needed to create a climate of peace & stability. In view of the work done so far we won the UNESCO peace prize in 1984 & Nobel peace prize in 1985

Speaker 3: This program will be brought to you two weekly with intervals of education like this one followed by a live phone in interactive session on Saturdays. So please keep your dials on this station & be sensitized & aware of why peace cannot be traded for anything. Please stay tuned.

MUSICAL INTERLUDE

Body of discussion

Speaker 1: Now by definition, peace is a state of rest and this could also mean a period of non-violence which is as well related to harmony, and this is needed in Jos and environment that have had series of violence conflicts over the past few years. 

Speaker 2: Health is not the mere absence of disease but a state of complete physical, mental & social well being. On the other hand violence is a conscious directed by one entity against another with the intent of doing harm. It can be structural when structures of the society prevent one from reaching his full potential. It can also be cultural. Violence is a leading worldwide public health problem”

Speaker 3: Now why peace & health? Effect of violent conflict & small arm proliferation & use has significant effect on the health of the society both physically & psychologically, making the individual spend on drugs, bed space & hospital consumables. 16 year-old male shot in the abdomen during the Yelwa crisis in Jos, Plateau state in 2004. Damaged the small bowel and liver. The perforated intestine and severed liver were repaired. He recovered, was discharged 3 weeks later. Medical Costs - Estimated $850 USD (144,400). It will interest you to know that the circulating amount of small arms in our nation is at an all time high, at such we all must have an aggressive want for peace, practice peace & live peace.

MUSICAL INTERLUDE

Speaker 1: Now how does it affect health & why are doctors bringing the message of peace? This is so because as we are on the receiving end i.e. hospitals; it reduces the strain on hospital resources & workforce making the environment to treat patients all encompassing thus giving them total care that’s not in a hurry. Firearm-related violence: creates culture of violence, diverts health care resources from disease control, health and nutrition education, creates internal displacement/refugees, encourages human rights and sexual abuse, scares away investment, increases cost of doing business.

Speaker 2: Violent conflict as well as small arms injuries like gunshot wounds, stray bullet wounds & machete cuts can lead to grave conditions met with significant morbidity & mortality, aside from the huge cost implication for hospital care & consumables. More information on this will be brought to you subsequently on this program when we shall discuss one bullet stories

Speaker 3: At such as doctors seeing patients affected by such conflict from both sides of the warring groups, we can either foster violence by refusing to treat the ones not related to us or help those affected irrespective of their background as medical doctors. Thereby bringing the message of peace even to their hospital beds.

MUSICAL INTERLUDE

Case scenario

Speaker 1: We will now give you a typical case scenario of a country as an example so we can point out how peace can be brought about by caregivers & how we can help prevent further crises. (introduce case scenario).

Speaker 2: You work in the emergency department of an African city hospital. You are astonished by the number of gun injuries you see, many of the fatal. Some quick research reveals that gun injury mortality in your country is far higher than in neighboring countries and 40 times higher than in the least violent countries in the world. Your country is only five years from the end of a vicious war that left huge quantities of fire arms distributed throughout the population. As your research deepens, you find other factors that may contribute to the high rate of gun violence. These include a macho culture assigning positive values to male violence, high rates of poverty and inequality, unemployment and sense of lack of political participation. Political polarization and a concern for a resumption of political violence exist. You decide that you can no longer continue just to bandage victims, but want to look at how to prevent such violence. What are the health issues in this case? What kinds of violence are there and what potential for peace? How would you go about working for peace through health?

Speaker 3:  In this case the major health concern are fire arm injuries (we then discussed)

• This case has examples of direct violence, structural violence and cultural violence.
• This case opens opportunity for primary and tertiary prevention. Examples could be discovery and dissemination of fact, solidarity and support. Participants may come up with other suggestions.

MUSICAL INTERLUDE

Speaker 1: At such as we introduce our series of programs aimed at education & sensitization of the effects of peace on health as well as other topics, we urge you to keep your dials on this station & be informed.

Speaker 2: We will be coming on air every 2 weeks on Saturdays. Were we will take on different topics as it relates to effect of violence on the youth, health & well being.

Speaker 3: Let’s all join hands:

• To Support tougher legislation on the use of gun;
• To  Advocate for policies that Aim for Prevention of violent conflicts;
• To Educate the public on the human impact of gun violence today.

Thank you for listening so see you next week from all of us at SND.