Lao PDR is the most bombed country in the world per capita. Throughout the 1963-1974 conflict, more than two million tonnes of weaponry was deployed over the country, with up to 30 per cent failing to explode as designed.
Today up to 25 per cent of all villages in Lao PDR are affected by unexploded ordnance (UXO), which includes big bombs, mortar, cluster munitions and submunitions, and landmines. These weapons continue to kill and maim women and children as well as disenabling communities and disrupting socio-economic development.
Ten provinces in the Lao PDR are still severely contaminated by these unexploded weapons, which injure and kill an estimated 300 people every year.
[Source: National Regulatory Authority for UXO/Mine Action in Lao PDR (NRA) - external link]
UXO contamination is one of the prime factors limiting long-term development in Lao PDR.
It diminishes food security and denies access to basic services, resulting in widespread poverty amongst rural populations. The massive scale of contamination requires long-term strategic planning and prioritisation.
