Daniel Bassey, MD is with the Society of Nigerian Doctors for the Welfare of Mankind (IPPNW Nigeria). Below is his reflection on being a medical doctor in Africa.
Anytime I see a patient with gunshot injuries, the first thing that comes to my mind is, “Yes you may be able to treat the patient, but will you be able to heal the scars?”
As a young medical student on mission working in the refugee camps in the Darfur region of Sudan, there were many victims of bullets all over the place and it was really hard to comprehend the human suffering. I decided to dedicate my time to reducing the burden of injury by gunshots. I helped produce the first One Bullet Story on the human face of small arms violence from Nigeria. The One Bullet Story is a program of IPPNW to develop case studies on gunshot injuries from all over the world to show not just the medical costs but the full range of costs to the victims, their families, and their communities. I still keep telling myself there is so much work to be done. Joining the campaign as a health voice at the Arms Trade Treaty at the UN makes the struggle worthwhile, and I plan to work for a strong and humanitarian-based ATT along with my medical colleagues. My hope is that whether it be it in Lagos, Hong Kong, London, Miami or Cairo, guns will be a thing of the past and we will begin to live in a safer world.
