UNICEF marks the Mine Awareness Day with veteran football players and par
A friendly football match organized in Baku to Explosive Ordnance Risk Education in Azerbaijan.
In recognition of the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action on 4 April, a friendly football match was organized in Baku with local football veterans and partners working on promoting Explosive Ordnance Risk Education in Azerbaijan.
This event brought together the Association of Azerbaijan Football Federations (AFFA), the Mine Action Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (ANAMA), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Azerbaijan. The match was facilitated by the Football Development Foundation
Since 2020, these organizations have jointly implemented an education project that uses football to educate children and families living in post-conflict territories about the dangers of landmines and explosive remnants of war.
Through the power and popularity of football, the programme provides Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE) to children and their families living in mine-infested areas in Azerbaijan to protect them from landmines and explosive remnants of war.
Since November 2020, explosive ordnance has claimed the lives of 65 people in Azerbaijan and injured 285 others, including ten children. Without effective EORE programmes and including them in school curriculums, there are risks that casualties will continue. In response to this, UNICEF has prioritized its partnership with the government to focus on lifesaving EORE programmes and capacity building.
Over the last four years, UNICEF collaborated with the Government and other partners to educate over 124,000 people about the dangers of explosive ordnance and safe behaviors. These face-to-face sessions have covered in particular 46,000 children in areas affected by conflict. Additionally, UNICEF together with partners has implemented several information campaigns with over 720 billboards installed and other traditional and digital materials designed to increase awareness of these dangers in the respective regions.
