KABUL, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) announced on Thursday the signing of two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with the Danish Refugee Council's mine action program to expand demining and explosive-risk reduction efforts across the country.
Valued at 4,131,741 U.S. dollars, the agreements will enable the clearance of more than 1.53 million square meters of heavily contaminated land, according to an ANDMA statement.
The initiative also provides for the establishment of rapid emergency response teams and the delivery of mine-risk education to 549,400 people, including recent returnees, in affected communities.
Afghanistan remains one of the world's most heavily landmine-contaminated countries. More than four decades of conflict have left explosive remnants that continue to kill or maim dozens of people, the majority of them children, every month. ■