Nguyen Van Nghiep, VNMAC Deputy Director and Tran Cong Phu, Director of Thua Thien Hue Department of Foreign Affairs award the course certificates to the trainees. Source: NPA Vietnam

The Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) and Vietnam National Mine Action Centre (VNMAC), supported by Thua Thien Hue Department of Foreign Affairs recently had conducted an administrator training course on Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA).

18 trainees attended, with staff from mine action projects and organizations including Thua Thien Hue Database Unit, Quang Binh Database and Coordination Unit, Quang Tri Mine Action Centre, NPA survey and clearance projects in Quang Tri and Quang Binh, PeaceTrees Vietnam, Mine Advisory Group (MAG) and VNMAC.

Six of the trainees was military officers seconded to mine action projects.

IMSMA is a free software designed and developed by Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining to support the needs of the mine action community for decision support, monitoring and reporting.

First released in 1998, IMSMA is now the primary software in mine action and is installed in 47 countries. IMSMA includes built-in flexibility to support a variety of information management needs, and provides humanitarian organisations and planners with the necessary information to enhance project efficiency and maximize the value of limited resources.

The course objectives were to provide training and certification of IMSMA Administrator for mine action project staff to facilitate the implementation of a standardized national reporting system led by VNMAC, to be in line with the national decree and circular on mine action management.

All the 18 trainees passed the final exam with high scores.

Trainees during the final exam. Source: NPA Vietnam

NPA is the key partner for VNMAC in capacity development, especially on the implementation of the national information mine action system.

VNMAC plan to conduct several future province IMSMA training courses on User Level and Administrator Level, and this with continued technical support from NPA.

According to VNMAC, the total area still contaminated with bombs, mines, and explosive ordnance in Vietnam in 2021 is more than 57,000km2, which accounts for more than 17% of Vietnam’s land surface.

In Thua Thien Hue province, in collaboration with VNMAC and the provincial authorities, NPA has been implementing CMRS in four districts. As at December 2020, over 17km2 of CHA had been identified in the western district of A Luoi. Based on a desk exercise, NPA estimates that total cluster munition contamination in A Luoi is likely to be around 45km2.

Last year, NPA also had conducted a three-week training course on International Mine Action Standards Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Level 3 in the central province of Quang Tri.

Held for the first time in Vietnam from late May, the course was the highest level in the country.

Among eight trainees, five come from Quang Tri, one from Quang Binh, and two from Thua Thien-Hue.

Operational in Vietnam since 2007, NPA is a non-governmental organization operating in mine action, disarmament, development, and humanitarian assistance. Working in Vietnam since 2007, it has helped clean tens of millions of square meters of UXO-contaminated land in Quang Tri. It has also supported Vietnam to provide training in UXO destruction and other fields.

Recently, the People’s Committee of Quang Tri has approved an NPA-funded project on capacity building for this central province’s mine action center during 2022 - 2025.

The project is financed with over USD 1.3 million in non-refundable aid, aims to successfully and effectively implement the plans and programs related to the settlement of war aftermath, minimize UXO accidents, and create a safe environment for local economic activities.

Quang Tri Race to Become UXO-Free in 2025 Quang Tri is doing its best to become the first province to be safe from UXOs.

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