The German government has funded $1.12 million to help defuse land mines in central Vietnam in 2011, the Voice of Vietnam Radio said April 6. This is the 13th consecutive year the German government has assisted the country in overcoming the aftermaths of wars and improving living conditions for local people. The charity program has been co-held by Solidarity Service International (SODI), a German non-governmental organization (NGO) with the close cooperation of the Vietnamese army and local authorities. Since 1998, the SODI has helped clean up landmines for over 1,000 ha in the central province of Quang Tri and 500 ha in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue serving for settlement areas and agricultural land. Bombs and mines have claimed around 104,000 lives in Vietnam since 1975 and it caused deaths to additional 300 to 600 people annually, the UNDP said. Vietnam needs more than $10 billion and take up to 300 years to clear up bombs and mines left from the war, said a representative of the Technology Centre for Bomb and Mine Disposal (BOMICEN). (vovnews.vn April 6, Lao Dong online - Labor)
