Ha Noi (VNA) - The Viet Nam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) - a nonprofit organization in the United States - will be able to in partner with Viet Nam expand its mine-action programme in Viet Nam through funding from the US government, announced Jan C. Scruggs, VVMF's founder and president.

In December 2000, the VVMF in conjunction with the Quang Tri province People's Committee, launched a project named " Restoring the Environment and Neutralizing the Effects of the War in Viet Nam" (RENEW). With the help of this project, as well as of other international organizations, Quang Tri province's authorities and local people have striven to overcome the effects left over from the war. In the past four years, local people  have reduced annually by roughly 20 percent of accidents caused by landmines and unexploded ordnance through safety and injury public awareness programmes and emergency medical service.

 According to a report by Nguyen Duc Chinh, Vice Chairman of Quang Tri Province People's Committee, 260 victims of the landmines in the past four years have received job training and have been supplied with funds and technical assistance to look  for work

He stressed the important success of the project, saying it is the first time a scientific information network serving for coordination of humanitarian mine activities was built in Quang Tri province. The project also has step by step transferred technology and raised capacity of local partners in order to make provincial concerned agencies themselves solve war aftermath and environmental pollution caused by landmines and unexploded ordnance in the near future.

The VVMF estimates that 3 million USD will be used for projects directed by its Ha Noi office and the Project RENEW Coordination Office in Quang Tri province over the next few years, VVMF President said. The programme's expansion will extend into other areas in Quang Tri province and other parts of Viet Nam in addition to the development of ongoing programmes including mine-risk education, victim assistance, medical support, community development, and explosive ordnance disposal teams.

From 1975 to Sept., 2004, landmines and unexploded ordnance accidents left 6,912 dead or injured, according to local statistics. In this year's January-September period, 66 mine-related incidents occurred in Quang Tri province with 34 resulting in fatalities.