International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action is a holiday that’s observed on the 4th of April every year. It’s a day that seeks assistance for mine action work, and to raise awareness about landmines and the need for them to be eradicated.

According to the latest data, there are over 100 million unexploded landmines all over the globe, and an equally large amount that is stockpiled but hasn’t been used yet. Getting rid of all of these landmines is often a problem that individual countries have a problem dealing with and that’s why there’s a need for this holiday.

The History Of International Day For Mine Awareness And Assistance In Mine Action

This holiday was created by the United Nations General Assembly on December 8th in 2005. The day was created to raise awareness about landmines, arrange assistance for organizations and countries that perform mine action work, and help eradicate unexploded landmines around the world.

Facts About Landmines

Below are some facts about landmines that we feel everyone should know, especially if they’re observing this holiday every year.

• Landmines are sometimes laid on the ground and sometimes buried 6-inches under the surface.
• The first landmines were created during World War I.
• During its 9-year bombing campaign of Laos during the 1960s, the U.S dropped thousands of mines by plane.
• One person is killed every 15-minutes by a landmine.
• Every day, 70 people die from landmines.
• Landmines place an undue burden on the health systems of developing countries.

Observing International Day For Mine Awareness And Assistance In Mine Action

On this holiday, a variety of organizations come together to work on solving the problem of unexploded landmines all across the world. The United Nations also uses its status in the world to raise awareness about this problem so that more countries and organizations will take part in the complete eradication of landmines one day.