Fiji’s Assistant Minister for Health and Medical Services, Penioni Ravunawa, delivered a powerful joint ministerial statement today at the 78th Session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, calling for renewed global research into the health consequences of nuclear war.

Speaking on behalf of 37 co-sponsoring countries, Ravunawa presented a resolution titled “The Impact of Nuclear War on Public Health,” which urges the World Health Organization (WHO) to update its last major study from the 1980s and 1990s.

“This resolution seeks to update the landmark studies conducted by the WHO to deepen our understanding of the devastating health impacts that nuclear war would inevitably bring,” said Ravunawa during the session, held at 3:00pm Geneva time.

He emphasized that, in the three decades since the last WHO report, advances in science, public health, and a changing global nuclear risk landscape necessitate a fresh review of the potential consequences of nuclear conflict.

“Nuclear war would represent a catastrophe of unprecedented scale for human health,” Ravunawa said. “Only the WHO holds the global mandate to lead this critical work and ensure that Member States are fully informed of the existential consequences we face.”

Citing the WHO Constitution, he reaffirmed, “the health of all peoples is fundamental to the achievement of peace and security and is dependent upon the fullest cooperation of individuals and States.”

The resolution is co-sponsored by countries including Austria, Brazil, New Zealand, Indonesia, Kenya, Kazakhstan, Ireland, and several Pacific Island nations. The proposal seeks consensus adoption to reaffirm WHO’s role in public health advocacy and policy regarding global security threats.

Fiji’s leadership on this issue underscores the nation’s ongoing commitment to peace, global cooperation, and preventive health policy in the international arena.