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Lao PDR is the most bombed country in the world per capita. More than two million tons of ordnance was dropped on the country between 1964 and 1973. Up to 30 per cent of some types of ordnance did not detonate. Unexploded ordnance (UXO) still contaminates the ground, affecting a quarter of all villages.
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Between 1999 and 2008, there were 2,184 casualties (including 834 deaths) from UXO incidents, with more than 50,000 casualties recorded since 19641.
UXO contamination also keeps people poor by preventing them from using land. It is therefore 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.
MAG has worked in Lao PDR since 1994, making it the most established and experienced humanitarian UXO clearance operator in the country.
MAG's work is vital to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), particularly the first: halving extreme poverty and hunger by 2015. In conjunction with our development partners, MAG also makes important contributions to the MDGs related to health, education, gender equality and building partnerships for development.
1 Source: Landmine Monitor 2009
MAG thanks the following current donors to its Lao PDR operations: AusAID; European Commission; Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, US Department of State; UKaid (Department of International Development.
17 September 2010
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