MAG has worked in Lao PDR since 1994, making it the most established and experienced humanitarian unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance operator in the country. Current work is in Xieng Khouang and Khammouane provinces.
MAG Lao PDR operates 11 UXO clearance teams (including two all-female teams) and nine Community Liaison teams. The programme has 231 national staff; 34 per cent of the staff is female.
In 2008, MAG Lao PDR located and destroyed 98,061 items of UXO. 3,763,582 square metres of land were cleared. Sixty-five per cent of this land was for agriculture, with the remaining 35 per cent cleared for schools, access roads, bridges, irrigation canals and toilets or water supply. Some 45,000 people directly benefited from the work, with tens of thousands of indirect beneficiaries.
Focus on impact
MAG’s work saves lives and enables economic development. MAG chooses project areas based on a comprehensive assessment of what difference UXO clearance will make to communities in that area.
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A member of MAG Lao's Community Liaison teams provides Mine Risk Education to villagers. |
Community Liaison
Community Liaison teams make up almost 15 percent of MAG’s field staff. Their role is to consult with, and involve, community members throughout the UXO and landmine clearance process. This ensures that MAG clears the land most likely to directly benefit the community, and therefore most likely to alleviate poverty.
Innovation
MAG Lao PDR is constantly developing new ways to clear UXO-contaminated land faster, whilst maintaining safety standards. Productivity increased by almost 90 per cent between 2008 and 2009, following an overhaul of clearance methodology used in the field.
Building national capacity
MAG is dedicated to training national staff and increasing the capacity of national organisations in the UXO sector.
MAG gives jobs to those who need them most
MAG aims to increase its percentage of female staff to 40 per cent, and actively recruit people with disabilities.
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MAG actively recruits women, and hires and trains members of rural communities. |
MAG is a committed partner of the Lao Government
MAG works alongside the Lao Government to achieve its national goals and strategies. Alongside our own projects, we also currently have staff on secondment to the National Regulatory Authority for the UXO Sector in Lao PDR.
Importance of UXO clearance
UXO clearance is fundamental to poverty alleviation efforts in Lao PDR. Development initiatives in contaminated areas will be more effective if UXO clearance is also undertaken.
Relevance of MAG's work to Millennium Development Goals
MAG’s work is vital to achieving the Millennium Development Goals, particularly the first: halving extreme poverty and hunger by 2015. MAG, in conjunction with our development partners, also makes important contributions to the MDGs related to health, education, gender equality and building partnerships for development.
October 2009
