New technological advances in the demining process is saving lives. One organization on the forefront of such innovation is the Golden West Humanitarian Foundation, which recently won the 2016 CES Innovation Award with its Advanced Ordnance Training Material project.
This project uses advanced three dimensional printing technology to create models of land mines and military ordnance to train demining technicians in post-conflict countries worldwide.
This project uses advanced three dimensional printing technology to create models of land mines and military ordnance to train demining technicians in post-conflict countries worldwide.
With support from the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Golden West Humanitarian Foundation has worked to make the environment safer in heavily mine-impacted countries since 1998. From recycling unexploded ordnance in Cambodia to teaching children about the risks of unexploded ordnance, Golden West takes a comprehensive approach to safeguarding the lives and livelihoods of people living in areas contaminated with explosive remnants of war.
The United States is the world’s largest single financial supporter of efforts to clear unexploded ordnance and landmines. The United States has contributed more than $2.5 billion since 1993 to over 90 countries around the world through more than 60 partner organizations, like Golden West Humanitarian Foundation, to reduce the harmful effects of illicitly proliferated and indiscriminately used conventional weapons of war.
Just 15 years ago, landmines and other explosive remnants of war killed or injured nearly 10,000 men, women, and children every year—more than 25 every day. Thanks to the concerted efforts of the United States, partner nations, international nongovernmental organizations, and new technology provided by organizations like Golden West Humanitarian Foundation, that figure—which has now dropped by more than 60 percent—will continue to go down.