Mending the Road: A Way Forward From Silence and Silencing.

Abstract

This commentary examines the cancellation of the author's keynote talk at a scientific conference in 2023, which referenced her work with Médecins Sans Frontières in Palestine. It evaluates challenges and perceived barriers to medical organisations and individuals speaking at the intersection of politics and health. As powerful bodies and individuals trained in rigorous interpretation of information and challenging communication, with a disproportionate amount of social and political capital, healthcare professionals and medical organisations should at least permit, and aspire to lead, a humane and nuanced discourse on current affairs that deeply impact health. Avoiding silence, and silencing of clinicians, can be an important contributor to humanisation, which intersects with the provision of equitable and safe access to health.