At a press conference in Hanoi on Tuesday, Colonel Nguyen Hanh Phuc, Deputy Director General of the Vietnam National Mine Action Center, said: “We will hold a meeting in Dong Ha city, Quang Tri province, which has been heavily affected by bombs and mines. We will also educate the children on the issue at school to prevent mine and bomb accidents. Two international workshops have been organized in New York and Washington to further the Vietnamese government’s efforts to settle aftermath of war.”

Head of the Office of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Ba Hoan introduced methods to overcome bomb and mines consequences. He said: “Vietnam wants to become a country free from bomb and mine accidents. We identified overcoming post-war consequences of bombs, mines and unexploded ordnances as both an urgent, constant, and long-term task. The Government has asked the Ministry of National Defense to accelerate the containment of war consequences in contaminated areas. Vietnam needs dozens of billions of USD to clean out bombs and mines left over from the war and ensure social security for people living in the affected areas.”

It’s estimated that about 800,000 tons of bombs, mines and unexploded ordnances are left over from the war in Vietnam. Since 1975, bomb and mine accidents killed more than 40,000 people and injured 60,000 others.