Mine Risk campaign targets Sa'ada affected people launched

SANA'A, March 07 (Saba) -
A coordinated mine risk education campaign began on Sunday in Yemen, with a focus on
displaced
and affected communities in Sa'ada, Hajjah and Amran governorates.

In a press release Saba got a copy of, the campaign is a joint effort of the
National Mine Action Committee, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, the
United Nations
Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the
United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and Save the Children, with the
participation
of national civil society organizations.
UNHCR estimates that about 250,000 people have been displaced by the protracted
conflict in the northern governorate of Sa'ada between the government troops and
al-Houthi
rebels, which began in 2004 and escalated again in August 2009, the press release said.
It said that there is an urgent need to address the dangers posed by landmines and
unexploded ordnance, as people begin to return to their areas of origin in Sa'ada,
making
reference to the Interior Ministry reports that showed that since the ceasefire was
announced at least five people have been killed and 20 injured as a result of
contact
with such explosive devices, especially in the Malahidh area. Most of these are
children.
The initial campaign will run for two weeks, but will then continue as a regular
activity by all child protection actors.
The campaign aims to target affected communities and internally displaced persons
(IDPs) living inside and outside camps in Sa'ada as well as in the neighboring
governorates
of Hajjah and Amran, where thousands of families have fled.
The campaign will include radio and television messages, banners, posters and
leaflets, workshops, and peer education through a child-to-child approach involving
school
children in the three governorates.
Children who do not attend school will be reached through child and youth centres
in IDP camps, according to the press release.
AF/AF