Assisting the Victims of Anti-Personnel Mines

1. Assisting the Victims of Anti-Personnel Mines ICRC Kuala Lumpur

2. Mine victim evacuation & recovery • Initial evacuation from the danger area • …. risk • Initial first aid • …. ? • Evacuation to a district hospital / reference hospital • …. slow • …. limited facilities

3. Assistance to Mine Victims • Ottawa calls upon all countries able to help to do their utmost to ensure the care, rehabilitation and reintegration of mine victims. • A specific role in this process is accorded to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement:

4. Mine victim assistance • All areas of mine victim assistance are important, however, • ICRC's assistance focuses mainly on emergency and hospital care and on physical rehabilitation

5. War surgery seminars & Training • Sharing experience • Training In 2007, ICRC-supported hospitals in 17 countries carried out more than 113,000 surgical operations.

6. Child victims • A child that steps on mine today will require a new prosthesis every 6 months, • this might total up to 26 by adulthood & • perhaps 35 prostheses in his / her lifetime

7. ICRC Physical Rehabilitation Programme • Between 1979 and 2006, the ICRC has supported through training and technical and financial assistance or directly managed, 110 physical rehabilitation centres in 38 countries

8. Fabrication • ICRC-developed polypropylene technology is now widely used, not only by the ICRC but also by most organizations working in the field of physical rehabilitation

9. Physical Rehabilitation (2006) AFRICA 5 Countries: 21 projects ASIA & PACIFIC 9 Countries: 30 projects EUROPE & AMERICAS 5 Countries: 11 projects MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA 5 Countries: 15 projects ------------------------------------------------------------- Total 24 Countries: 77 projects

10. ICRC physical rehabilitation projects • Run in close proximity to the affected group • Where appropriate, implemented within a national physical rehabilitation programme • Whenever possible, the ICRC works with a local partner, to avoid duplication of services and to increase the likelihood of services continuing long-term. • Coordination with other organizations

11. Rehabilitation - Prosthetics

12. Physiotherapy

13. Rehabilitation - retraining

14. Rehabilitation - retraining

15. Aftercare – the long term follow up • Repairs • Resizing • Rural visits

16. Socio-economic reintegration? Livelihood • Ability to adapt to disability; • Ability to work / find work; • Vocational retraining

17. Assistance solutions Risk taking with mines despite ongoing mine risk education campaigns. Risk reduction measuresshould be discussed, planned and agreed as part of the community liaison approach. Some examples and possibilities: Water / habitat • Alternate water sources- where water sources are blocked by mines • Alternate shelter- where returnees are forced to return to a contaminated village • Alternate school sites- where the original school site is contaminated • Safe play areas- for children living in contaminated areas

18. Economic security • Alternate fuel sources - where local sources of fuel are contaminated by mines • Short term livestock programmes - where herds have been decimated, in conjunction with the location of safe grazing areas and prioritisation for clearance through the MACC or National Authority • Micro economic solutions - to forced risk taking; for instance income generation projects minimising the need to collect ERW as scrap metal, or the production of nets to discourage the extraction of explosives for fishing, when nets are either too expensive or unavailable The ICRC will continue to work with its partners to improve the assistance rendered to all war-wounded people and particularly mine victims, who both need a lifetime of care and assistance.