Africa-Press – Angola. The National Mine Action Agency (ANAM) called yesterday, in Luena, Moxico province, for public and private institutions to intensify medical, medication and economic assistance to mine victims in the country.
The appeal was made by the head of the ANAM Mine Victim Assistance department, Florinda António, during a workshop on “Mine Victim Assistance in Moxico”.
The official recognized the need to expand intervention in assisting victims in a special way, as well as to mitigate the divergence in the definition of sectoral priorities combined with the availability of funds.
He highlighted the support provided by government and private institutions, with the delivery of materials for agriculture, technical-professional training, credit and others in this fringe of society.
During the workshop on Assistance for Mine Victims in Moxico, the official suggested reactivating the update of the database of mine victims in the country, as the last one, in 2014, was only carried out in 9 of the 18 provinces of Angola, having registered, at the time, nine thousand and 600 people.
With this, said Florinda António, there will be a greater understanding of the real situation of the victims of sugar mills and will count on the mobilization of more financial resources, by the government and partners.
Zeca Tchimocomoco, ex-military and mine victim, hopes that the government and other local and international non-governmental organizations will intensify their support in the demining program, as in his view, there are still huge minefields in the country, mainly in the province of Moxico .
The vice-governor of Moxico province for the Political, Social and Economic Sector, Victor da Silva, reaffirmed support for victims of explosive devices, through technical and professional training, provision of credit through banks to leverage agricultural activity, informal business, and others.
The ANAM representative in Moxico, Chile Chicanha, reiterated the return of Education Programs for the Prevention of Mine Accidents in schools, as a way to reduce mine accidents in the country.
He reported that in 2022 there were four accidents in Moxico, which resulted in three deaths, nine seriously and lightly injured, of which 11 were children under 11 years old.
In the year in question, 1 million 496 thousand and 19 hectares of land were cleared in the province of Moxico, where 5 thousand 260 ammunition, 404 anti-personnel mines, 202 explosive devices and six anti-tank devices were deactivated and destroyed.
In the region, the municipality of Moxico (provincial headquarters), Camanongue, Bundas and Alto Zambeze are those with the highest rate of explosive devices.
Completion of the demining process in Angola, initially scheduled for 2025, was extended to 2028, due to financial problems.
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