Luanda - Angola needs over 200 million US dollars to be completely free of landmines and other explosive devices, the director of the National Agency against Mine Action (ANAM) Leonardo Severino Sapalo said Tuesday.
Speaking at the end of a workshop on "IMSMA Core" information management, Sapalo said, Moxico, Bié, Cuando Cubango and Cuanza Sul are the provinces most affected by mines, and that the central database currently has 1, 039 confirmed mined areas.
"Although Angola is considered to be a country with worrying levels of contamination of mines and other explosive devices, ANAM is drawing up policies and actions, including initiatives by the government, to mitigate the problems caused by them," Sapalo said.
IMSMA CORE is a system that aims to adapt the specific operational and reporting requirements of national programs, which provides access to information for a wide range of stakeholders, promotes information sharing and provides maps and reports in real time on the extent of mined areas.
Sapalo said the assessment of information management is an important milestone in the life of the institution and the sector representing a step towards the materialization and fulfilling of tasks improving the principles of information management.
The workshop was promoted by ANAM, in partnership with the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining and the Institutional Strengthening and Capacity Building Project of the NGO Norwegian People's Aid. LIN/OHA/AMP
