Landmines: Unit 1: D: Human Cost of Landmines

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Mr. President, every 22 minutes another man, woman or child somewhere in the world will become the victim of a landmine. There will be 70 casualties today, 500 this week, more than 2,000 this month and over 26,000 this year. These victims, overwhelmingly civilian, will be casualties of a peace that these weapons do not recognize.”

Vietnam Veterans of America - March 28, 1996

Every month over 2,000 people are killed or maimed by mine explosions. Most of the casualties are civilians who are killed or injured after hostilities have ended.

Landmine victims need blood transfusions twice as often as people injured by bullets or fragments. The number of units of blood required to operate on patients with mine injuries is between 2 and 6 times greater than that needed by other war casualties.

Surgical care and the fitting of an orthopedic appliance cost about $3,000 per amputee in developing countries. This means a total expenditure of $750 million for the 250,000 amputees registered worldwide by the United Nations.

In 1978, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) created a special unit within its Medical Division to help rehabilitate people disabled by war. Since 1979, when the first rehabilitation program was put into operation in Ethiopia, the ICRC's 45 projects have manufactured over 100,000 prostheses for some 80,000 amputees in 22 countries. They made nearly 30,000 orthoses (a device which supports a paralyzed limb), 140,000 crutches and 7,000 wheelchairs. As of January 1997, the ICRC was running 19 prosthetic/orthotic programs in eight countries - Afghanistan, Angola, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Georgia, Iraq, Kenya and Rwanda. In 16 other countries, the programs have been turned over to either local organizations, the Ministries of Health or other non-governmental organizations. Despite these efforts, the ICRC estimates that only a small portion of people maimed by mines get adequate rehabilitative care.

The ICRC's projects mainly involve establishing or providing support for prosthetic workshops and training local technicians. The aim is to provide immediate relief for those needing rehabilitation. However, the disabled need lifelong assistance as they outgrow their prostheses - a ten-year old child will need about 15 prostheses during his or her lifetime.

In many of the countries with ICRC projects, there is an emphasis on training local staff , developing technical self-sufficiency and integrating the project into the local organizations. In many of the projects, former mine victims are trained and employed. At one ICRC rehabilitation center in Afghanistan, the vast majority of employees are amputees.

Why is the issue of landmines a humanitarian issue?
What is the connection between the "human cost" of landmines and the "financial cost" of landmines? Explain.
One of the concerns of medical people is the "sustainability" of making artificial limbs. What does this mean? Why is it important that nations with many victims take control of these programs?
Find organizations or companies in your area that are involved with the issue of landmines. Research what they do and how they contribute to a humanitarian solution.