Medical students not mum on Iraq

Brad Mackay reports in CMAJ News on the muted response of Canadian physicians to the humanitarian catastrophe in Iraq.1 However, “mum” hardly describes the activity that took place on Canadian medical school campuses, starting months before the US-led attack on Iraq began. Medical students participated in and led rallies, vigils and discussions of the health consequences of the war in Iraq and have been a significant component of the unprecedented public opposition to this military intervention. Medical students across Canada initiated a petition voicing opposition to the detrimental health consequences of war in Iraq. This petition eventually reached every medical school in Canada and garnered over 650 signatories.2 Many Canadian physicians understandably feel ill-equipped to address the health consequences of war. That is why we are encouraging medical schools to incorporate education about human rights and the health effects of war into medical undergraduate curricula. That is also why organizations like Physicians for Global Survival are so crucial in helping governments to reframe political, economic and military decisions in terms of projected health outcomes. We continue to endeavour to use medicine as an avenue for peace, and we invite organizations such as the CMA to assess the health consequences of the war in Iraq and to take the position they deem appropriate, as would be done for any other health crisis. Liam Brunham Second-Year Medical Student University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC Patricia Lee Second-Year Medical Student University of Western Ontario London, Ont. Andrew Pinto First-Year Medical Student University of Toronto Toronto, Ont.