In a compelling plea to the international community, Heidi Kühn, founder and CEO of the "Roots of Peace" organization, urged increased funding to support the cleanup of land contaminated by landmines and explosive remnants of war in the ongoing battle against malnutrition, Ednews reports.
During her visit to the minefields of Angola, Kühn made the impassioned appeal, witnessing firsthand the efforts of deminers striving to transform the land into arable fields. Collaborating with female and male deminers from the international NGO MAG (Mine Advisory Group), which is dedicated to humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding efforts globally, Kühn emphasized the critical importance of their work.
Mrs. Kühn underscored the profound and enduring impact of landmines on communities, stating, "Not only do they seriously injure and kill people, they also impede development and prevent some of the world's poorest families from providing food for their loved ones. Food security is one of the most urgent problems in the world. Having witnessed firsthand the scale of the problem and the skill of the deminers who are trying to eliminate it, I am today asking the governments of the world to increase their support for this important work."
Angola, among the most mined countries globally, faces the aftermath of a conflict that concluded in 2002. Once a net food exporter, the nation now relies on food imports. Over 73 million square meters of land in Angola are believed to be contaminated with more than 1,100 detected and suspected minefields. In 2022 alone, at least 41 Angolans died, and 66 people were injured. Globally, more than 15 individuals are killed or injured daily, with over 60 million people still living at risk of mine contamination.
MAG, operational in Angola since 1994, has cleared over 10 million square meters of mined land for communities in the past decade, supported by the US and UK governments. This is equivalent to the area of 1,400 football pitches.
Jamie Franklin, CEO of MAG America, highlighted the pivotal role Roots of Peace and MAG play in demining, agricultural development, and food security globally, emphasizing their positive impact on returning land to productive use by impoverished communities.
Notably, Heidi Kühn, head of the "Roots of Peace" organization and a partner of the International Eurasia Press Fund, received the prestigious "World Food Prize" in 2023 for her outstanding contributions to addressing global food security issues.
