UXO devices are discovered in Xieng Khuang this year.

US provides US$8.5 million for UXO operations in Xieng Khuang

The United States has granted 12 months of additional funding totalling US$8.5 million to the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) to continue UXO clearance, surveys, and explosive ordnance risk education across Xieng Khuang province.
Unexploded ordnance (UXO) contamination in Laos continues to pose a major humanitarian threat, especially for vulnerable communities living in rural villages and towns.
MAG’s work clearing land and providing explosive ordnance risk education reduces the number of UXO-related accidents, provides safe land for agricultural activities and infrastructure development, and contributes to the overall socio-economic development of Laos.
A Memorandum of Understanding was approved by Laos’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and signed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare’s National Regulatory Authority for the UXO Sector (NRA) and MAG in May 2022, with a ceremony to announce the additional funding held in Vientiane on July 25.
Funding from the United States Government to support UXO survey and clearance in Laos has once again increased in 2022, with contributions to the sector higher than the total funding awarded in 2021.
MAG Lao PDR Country Director Ms Letven said “The continued support from the United States will enable MAG to clear a significant amount of priority land in Xieng Khuang province, in support of vulnerable rural communities. This vital work saves lives and builds safer futures for people living in areas contaminated by UXO.”
“Clearance of land improves people’s livelihoods, allowing them to plough their land without fear, build vital community infrastructure such as roads and health centres, and send their children to school without the fear of finding UXO in the playground.”
Throughout nearly three decades of work in Laos, MAG has cleared over 101 million square metres of land, removing and destroying more than 315,000 devices and directly benefitting 1,165,000 men, women and children.
With the additional US$8.5 million funding contribution from the United States, MAG will clear a further 10km² (1,000 hectares) of priority contaminated areas, survey a

Officials gather in Vientiane on Monday to launch Phase II of a UXO survey and clearance project in Xieng Khuang province.

further 86km² of land across Xieng Khuang province, and deliver over 280 explosive ordnance risk education sessions to local communities.
Over 10,000 people are expected to directly benefit from these activities.
The funding will also support four roving teams tasked to destroy items of UXO reported by people in the community.
Clearance of cluster munitions and other UXO is critical to improving the lives and livelihoods of people living in Laos.
This US-funded clearance and survey work conducted by MAG will benefit those living in areas with the highest amount of contamination and most at-risk, and will allow Lao people to use their land without fear of injury or death from unexploded ordnance.
Phase II of the UXO survey and clearance project in Xieng Khuang province was officially launched in Vientiane on Monday.
The event was attended by Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Welfare Mr Padeumphone Sonthany, Charge d’Affaires of the US Embassy to Laos Ms Joy M. Sakurai, and other officials.

By Times Reporters
 (Latest Update July 26, 2022)