A single bullet can destroy someone's life. In addition to at least 300,000 gun deaths every year, there are estimated to be a further 1 million serious injuries. Saturday 3 December was International Day of Disabled Persons, an opportunity to highlight the long-term costs of gun violence.
In developing countries, where support services are scarce or non-existent, severe disability can mean a life of isolation, poverty and despair.
 In September 2001, Patamule, a 17-year old from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), was shot in the face. He survived thanks to first aid treatment. Click here to view this One Bullet Story in read-only PDF format (1mb).
It took Patamule and his family one year to afford the treatment to repair his face ($6,000 total). The treatment cost as much as the income of a family of 8 in the DRC.
Click here to go the Handicap International website.
Learn more about how doctors are working to prevent gun violence. Click here to read more about the IANSA Public Health Network. |
