Afghanistan: The 1997 National Mine Awareness Evaluation

The purpose of this 1997 evaluation was to estimate the coverage of awareness activities and the effectiveness of different training modalities in terms of levels of knowledge, behaviour and reduction of risk. It aimed to provide a baseline for measuring the impact of mine awareness initiatives, while building local skills and a community interface that encourages sustainability. It examined the performance of four partners of the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan (UNOCHA) in mine action in Afghanistan: BBC ‘New Home New Life’ programme, Organisation for Mine Clearance and Afghan Rehabilitation (OMAR), Save the Children Federation USA and Handicap International. The data produced and the operational interface with the communities aimed to facilitate fine-tuning of mine action over the coming years, benchmarked across to a reduction in the social costs of land mines. A flexible mine action training programme scheme is proposed to promote results-based management of mine action.