US organisation aids UXO clearance project in Quang Binh
The People’s Committee of the central province of Quang Binh has received an aid package from the US Golden West Humanitarian Foundation (GWHF) to conduct a project to clear unexploded ordnances (UXO) left from the war in the province.
The aid package, worth US$242,000, will be spent on training UXO clearance staff as well as providing equipment for the provincial Military High Command.
The project will be implemented until the end of this year.According to statistics, all communes with 225,000 hectares of land in Quang Binh are contaminated with UXOs.
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A preliminary survey in 2002 showed that nearly 9,300 communes with 6.6 million hectares of land across Vietnam were contaminated with UXOs, accounting for 21.12% of the country’s land area. The central region is the most contaminated.
UXOs claimed 42,135 lives and injured 62,163 others from 1975 to 2000. The State has spent tens of millions of dollars every year on UXO disposal and providing vocational training to and resettling UXO victims.
