UNICEF To Teach Children in Eastern Ukraine How to Identify Landmines

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UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, begins an education campaign that will provide life-saving information on the risk of mines to 500,000 children in eastern Ukraine, as reported in a news release on its official website.

The decision to begin the campaign was made due to the high death rate and injuries from mines among children in eastern Ukraine.

 At least 109 children are reported to have been injured and 42 killed by landmines and unexploded ordnance in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine since March last year, UNICEF said today.

The government-reported figures may not reflect the actual number of child casualties from landmines and unexploded ordnance in eastern Ukraine.

“The number of children killed and maimed by mines and unexploded ordnance would be significantly higher if we include non-government controlled areas,” said Marie-Pierre Poirier, UNICEF Regional Director for Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of the Independent States, who recently returned from visiting the eastern regions of Ukraine. “Lack of access to these areas is a real challenge for humanitarian actors on the ground.” 

Children in particular are at risk from unexploded ordnance and landmines which may be brightly coloured and small enough to pick up or kick around. Children could be drawn to such items, mistaking them for toys or objects of value, which can result in tragedy.

UNICEF and its partners have launched a mine-risk education campaign in crisis-affected areas of Ukraine to provide 500,000 children and their families with lifesaving information about the risks posed by landmines and explosives. The campaign includes risk educational messages in print, video and digital formats as well as the training of 100 teachers and school psychologists on mine-risk awareness.