DEFENCEWEB
Donations from Denmark and Japan will help the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) continue humanitarian mine action operations in northern Ethiopia after conflict from 2020 to 2022.
Denmark’s contribution is, according to a U.N. statement, more than $1 million. Japan has committed $1.19 million.
The funding will go to UNMAS to promote peace and safety in northern Ethiopia.
Explosive contamination imperils community safety and hampers economic development as it restricts access to land and resources.
UNMAS work to remove land mines and explosive remnants of war ensures, among other things, that humanitarian aid deliveries are not interrupted. UNMAS also will train Ethiopians to perform the nerve-wracking work.
The latest funding boost will ensure that UNMAS teams continue surveying and tagging dangerous areas and gathering accurate information on where explosive ordnance and land mines are. Funding also will cover explosive hazard awareness training for humanitarian personnel.
“UNMAS is engaged in improving security for the people of Ethiopia and coordinating humanitarian mine action interventions in the country,” said Francesca Chiaudani, UNMAS chief of mine action in Ethiopia. She thanked Denmark and Japan for their contributions, adding that mine action was “essential to enable a return to normalcy of education and health systems.”