Clear Path International to Assist Afghan Landmine Survivors As Part of U.S. Department of State Contract

KABUL, Afghanistan � Clear Path International (CPI), a U.S.-based humanitarian mine action nonprofit organization, has received a multi-year contract from DynCorp International to start a landmine survivor assistance program in Afghanistan on behalf of the U.S. Department of State.

With an average of 90 casualties from landmine and explosive remnants of war per month, Afghanistan is one of the world�s most �mine-affected� countries. Nearly half of all casualties die trying to reach a hospital. One in every 10 adult men is a victim of a landmine or explosive remnant of war. Women and children are also victims. Landmine and explosive remnants of war contaminate 27 of the country�s 29 provinces.

Clear Path�s subcontract with DynCorp International supports program design, led by long-time CPI consultant Kristen Leadem in Kabul, and survivors assistance services at least through 2008. It is part of larger humanitarian mine-action effort sponsored by the Department of State�s Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement.

�The intention of the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement program in Afghanistan is to complement existing efforts here and increase capacity in support of Afghanistan's national survivors assistance plan,� Leadem said.
Survivor assistance services range from medical care, physical mobility and rehabilitation to vocational training, income-generation, and sports activities. Capacity building services can include equipment, training and technical support to local hospitals, clinics and community-based rehabilitation centers.

Since 2000, Clear Path International has assisted nearly 4,000 survivors of accidental landmine and explosive remnants of war incidents in Vietnam, Cambodia and along the Thai-Burma border. It has also sent 65 containers of medical equipment and supplies to 25 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America (www.cpi.org).

The Department of State�s Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement (www.state.gov/t/pm/wra) is one of the world�s largest sponsors of mine clearance, risk reduction education and survivors assistance. It has directly funded Clear Path�s programs in Vietnam and Cambodia and some of the organization�s public awareness and fundraising efforts in the United States (www.abilitytrek.org).

DynCorp International is a U.S-based company that provides support services to military and civilian government institutions in such areas as aviation, infrastructure development, security and logistics (www.dyn-intl.com).


Clear Path International consultant, Ed Pennington-Ridge, examining the prosthetic leg of a landmine survivor at the Sandy Gall Afghan Appeal prosthetics workshop in Jalalabad, Nangahar Province Afghanistan. Photo: Kristen Leadem, 2007