SUMMARY OF JANUARY 2009'S ACTIVITIES AND OUTPUTS:
The programme continued to reduce the threat of unexploded ordnance (UXO) to vulnerable
communities in Vietnam by implementing humanitarian mine action in Quang Binh and Quang
Tri Provinces.
- Nine Mine Action Teams (MATs), supported by four Community Liaison (CL) teams.
- Teams visited 1,460 houses, searching 2,756 square metres of land; performing 354 Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) tasks; and removing a total of 427 items of UXO.
- Community Liaison teams conducted seven community/partner meetings; visiting 85 villages, conducting 502 house to house surveys; documenting 50 mine/UXO reports; generating 40 post-clearance impact reports.
- During January the teams also cleared 50,844 sq/m of land, removing and destroying a total of 18 items of UXO.
- These activities benefited 9,004 people, mainly in remote, marginalised communities.
SUMMARY OF IMPACT:
- Creating a more secure environment for the Vietnamese people by reducing risk to life and limb.
- Building national capacity.
- Building safer communities and working to improve the futures of people affected by the explosive remnants of conflict.
- Creating poverty alleviation opportunities by freeing up land that can be used for sustainable livelihood generation and infrastructure projects.
To download the full report please go to www.maginternational.org/vietnam
MAG would like to express its gratitude and many thanks to the following current donors to the
Vietnam programme: DFID; Imperial Tobacco; Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, US Department of State; Schonstedt/UN.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
Ducklings are seen at an incubating farm outside Hanoi February 3, 2009. Vietnam's capital city Hanoi has banned the use of motorcycles and bicycles to transport live poultry as part of ...
