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MAG is helping local non-governmental demining organisations in Afghanistan to implement good standard operating procedures, develop well-organised institutional structures, building on their own capacity to expand. |
The problem
According to Landmine Monitor 2009 [external link], the Mine Action Coordination Centre of Afghanistan (MACCA) recorded at least 12,069 casualties from mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) between 1999 and 2008, including 1,612 killed and 10,457 injured. The vast majority of these were civilians.
“It is hard to grasp how much danger landmines pose to people in Afghanistan,” says MAG Chief Executive Lou McGrath. “More are being laid every day, and even if and when the current conflict ends people there are still at risk from these new mines, as well as ones that are decades-old.”
Recently, according to MACCA, unexploded ordnance is beginning to pose as much of a threat as mines in Afghanistan, if not greater.
How MAG is helping
MACCA coordinates more than 8,000 Afghans in both commercial demining companies and non-governmental organisations. MAG’s International Director for Technical Development and Evaluation, Steve Priestley, visited these NGOs in July 2009 to see how MAG could help.
“The technical staff in the charities have been clearing mines in Afghanistan for many years, so they do know the risks, and how to get the job done,” he said. “But what they perhaps don’t have very much experience of are the important practicalities of using good standard operating procedures, having a well-organised institutional structure and building on their own capacity to expand. MAG can help them achieve this.”
In October 2009, a member of MAG staff who has years of experience in mine clearance and is fully trained in the established safety procedures began work in Kabul. From implementing quality assurance procedures, to teaching how to maintain and manage the machinery used in clearing mines, his job is to pass this knowledge on. In June 2010 he was joined by a Country Programme Manager to give management support and to explore further work opportunities for MAG.
Your donation to MAG helps us to move into current and former conflict zones to clear the remnants of conflict, enabling recovery and assisting the development of affected populations.
Beneficiaries
MAG’s experience of running large, high-impact clearance operations in conflict zones over the past 20 years is invaluable to these Afghan NGOs, whose staff are committed but often lack proper training. Building the capabilities of these organisations to address the problem benefits the civilian communities, who are at risk from mines and unexploded ordnance even when conflict subsides.
Find out more
- Landmine Monitor 2009 - Afghanistan
- Landmine Monitor 2009 - Afghanistan
- Alertnet country profile: Afghanistan [external site]
- BBC country profile: Afghanistan [external site]
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MAG would like to express its thanks to the following donor to its Afghanistan operations: Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT).
August 2010
www.maginternational.org/afghanistan
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