Emerging patterns of ERW injuries in Laos

The year 2016 marks the beginning of a new era for international development, with the adoption of seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) that will drive global development efforts until 2030. In post-conflict countries, humanitarian mine action will be an important enabler in achieving a number of SDGs, including goal 3: “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.” Of particular relevance is target 3.9 of the SDGs, which specifies the need to reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from soil pollution and contamination. At present this relates primarily to indoor and outdoor air pollution. However, since explosive remnants of war (ERW) contamination can be directly attributed to a significant number of deaths and injuries in post-conflict countries, the inclusion of ERW is relevant. Demonstrating mine action’s contribution to target 3.9 requires accurate, reliable, and readily available ERW injury data, which will also allow for the appropriate allocation of resources to both ERW injury prevention and adequate access to emergency medical and rehabilitation services. As progress on goal 3 will be reported on through the health sector, SDGs provide an opportunity for mine action injury databases to link with national health information systems based on standardized, minimum reporting requirements for injuries using international standards, statistical principles, and global measurement methods