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Director of the Department of International Cooperation Le Kim Dung speaking at the conference

Representatives from ministries, central agencies, embassies, and domestic and international organizations working in the field of UXO/landmine victim assistance attended the conference.

The conference aimed to enhance cooperation between MoLISA and international partners in supporting victims of UXO in Vietnam, especially in promoting rehabilitation, community reintegration and life stabilization for them.

Speaking at the conference, Director of the Department of International Cooperation Le Kim Dung highlighted the achievements in backing UXO/landmine victims, including monitoring and controlling UXO accidents, building a system of related policies and laws and a database of UXO/landmine victims, providing healthcare activities, focusing on rehabilitation, job creation, vocational training, communications, community reintegration and life stabilization.

Ms. Dung said that Vietnam has tried its utmost to carry out mine action activities over the past years, actively implementing the national action program to overcome the consequences of bombs and mines in the 2010-2035 period.

As the program requires a large number of human and material resources, the country has mobilized domestic and international social agencies, social organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to accelerate the pace of UXO/landmine clearance as well as to support the victims.

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Overview of the conference

According to estimates, about 800,000 tons of UXO still lie here and there across 6.6 million hectares or 20.12 percent of Vietnam’s area, mainly in the central region. More than 100,000 people, a majority of whom were family breadwinners or children, were killed and injured by UXO after the war.

According to Hong JungPyo, Country Representative of Medi Peace in Vietnam, the organization has launched projects to support children with disabilities in Gio Linh and Hai Lang districts, Quang Tri province, since 2012. The organization has built a rehabilitation center, helping 160 local children with disabilities integrate into community. The project also improved physical therapy capacity of 10 facilitators of the Quang Tri Medical College, 17 physical therapists and 18 rehabilitation workers.

At the conference, participants discussed solutions to promote assistance for UXO/landmine victims; shared experiences in supporting UXO victims’ reintegration into community, and provide livelihoods for them and improve their living standards.

The conference also updated and shared information on the activities and operations of involved domestic and international organizations in supporting UXO victims and mine action activities in the country in the future.

Translated by Thuy Duong