On the evening of April 3, 2022, at the Cinema and Culture Center of Quang Tri province, the Quang Tri Provincial Mine Action Steering Committee held the event "International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistant in Mine Action April 4th". with the theme "Joining hands to prevent and combat explosives remnant of war (ERW) for the safety and health of the community".
Attending the program were Mr Hoang Nam - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, Head of the Provincial Mine Action Steering Committee; Mr. Drew Bazil - Political Officer of US Embassy in Vietnam; representatives of departments, agencies and organizations engaged in mine action in Quang Tri including MAG, NPA, RENEW, Peace Trees Vietnam and other foreign organizations and projects in the province.
This year’s program "International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistant in Mine Action April 4th "has the participation of nearly 400 people who are typical officials, employees and union members of mine action organizations in the whole province and the victims and their families.
Mr Hoang Nam affirmed that up to now, Quang Tri province has been successfully implementing the Provincial Mine Action Program for the period 2016 - 2025. To date, Quang Tri province has cleared more than 25,000 ha of land contaminated with ERW; detect and safely dispose of over 765,000 landmines and explosives left over from the war; at the same time, supporting thousands of victims, raising awareness about the dangers of ERW for most people and students.
Speaking at the program, Representative of the US Embassy in Vietnam Drew Bazil said that the event "International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistant in Mine Action April 4th" was held in Quang Tri has especially important meaning because this is where the two countries, the United States and Vietnam, reached agreements through cooperation in mine action.
At the program, the Director of the Provincial Mine Action Center/QTMAC announced the progress of cluster munition survey, clearance and pollution map in Quang Tri up to March 2022. Accordingly, Quang Tri province has identified and mapped 1,048 areas with confirmed cluster bomb contamination with a total area of 50,861 ha. In the period 2016 - 2022, the whole province has surveyed more than 42,000 hectares of confirmed cluster bomb contamination, 27 times higher than in the 2011-2015 period. According to calculations, the total area of confirmed contaminated areas of cluster bomb in Quang Tri will reach about 62,000 ha by mid-2023 and the total cleared area will reach about 30,000 ha by 2025.
Within the event, the Organizing Committee awarded prizes to the athletes who participated in the online race "For public health - Supporting ordnance victims". Although it took place within 10 days, this activity attracted the participation of more than 200 domestic and foreign athletes, and donated more than 17 million VND to the Ordnance Victims Support Fund. At the same time, 26 gifts, each worth 3 million VND, were given to victims and families of ordnance victims in the province.
