Afghanistan
More than three decades of armed conflict in Afghanistan have...
Afghanistan
More than three decades of armed conflict in Afghanistan have left widespread mine and ERW contamination across the country. The Mine Action Programme of Afghanistan (MAPA) has been working to clear this contamination since 1989. The MAPA currently focuses on implementing the ten-year 2013-2023 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC) Extension Request Work Plan, which will see all recorded contamination cleared by 2023, subject to the continued availability of funding. The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) supports the efforts of the Directorate of Mine Action Coordination (DMAC) to achieve this goal.
The explosive hazard contamination in Afghanistan affects an estimated number of 2.3 million people in Afghanistan. Some identified at-risk groups affected by the contamination include returnees, IDPs, nomads, scrap metal collectors, and people on the move (travelers); among all, children have been known to be the most vulnerable to the threat of mines, particularly ERWs.
For the past decades, the MAPA has been using a standard set of Risk Education (RE) materials (trainers’ kit and materials for display in vulnerable communities), as well complementary RE merchandise (i.e. pen, a notebook with RE messages). Considering the recent rise in casualty numbers (170 casualties per month) resulting predominantly from ERW and Victim Operated improvised explosive devices (VOIED) (not traditional anti-personnel and anti-vehicle landmines), DMAC identified the need to update the MAPA Risk Education strategy and materials, UNMAS concurred and agreed to provide support. UNMAS is anticipating to implement this in two stages, including, the development of a behaviour change and communications strategy for the Risk Education programme of Afghanistan that examines the current RE approach, the conflict context, the risk-taking behaviours, the at-risk groups and tailors RE better ensure positive behaviour change takes place, addressing the characteristics of the at-risk groups and risk-taking behaviours. This will serve as a guide for the second stage, which is the implementation of RE interventions in Afghanistan, and the actual design of targeted new RE materials or new interventions, such as outlining new approaches to stigmatise and dissuade actions, for example, collection of ERW as scrap metal or the use of VOIED by armed opposition groups.
During December 2017, UNMAS, in collaboration with its local partner, Danish Deming Group (DDG), supported the conduction of a national MRE workshop under DMAC’s leadership. The goal of the workshop was to highlight current casualty trends and risk-taking behavior, as well as to consolidate key stakeholders’ recommendations on the way forward for improving MRE interventions. A report is available at http://dmac.gov.af/publications/mine-erw-risk-education/. The MRE Workshop report also includes an in-depth analysis of the mine/ ERW casualty data for the years 2009 to 2017.
Below please see a list of few other key reference documents including reports of KAP Surveys, Evaluations and other events related to Mine/ ERW Risk Education in Afghanistan. All reports are available at the above link.
- Afghanistan Evaluation-CB Approaches for Improving MRE and Perception of Deminers 2012
- Afghanistan KAP Analysis Report - 2004-2005
- Afghanistan KAPB Survey Report - 2009-2010
- Attitudes towards Mine Action - An Afghan Women Perspective Report - Jan 2009
- DDG Afghanistan RE baseline KAP Survey Report - Mar 2018