Vietnam is one of the countries severely laden with war legacies. One of the them is tens of thousands of tons of unexploded ordnance (UXO) scattering throughout the nation.

The UXO remnants can be found in all localities of the whole country, be they the plain or mountainous areas. The remnants can also be found in forests or under water, etc.

It is estimated that about 800,000 tons of UXO remain uncleared in all regions of Vietnam, covering the areas of nearly 6.1 million hectares contaminated and possibly contaminated with UXO, accounting for 18.71% of the country’s total area.

All 63 out of 63 provinces and centrally-run cities are contaminated with UXO at different rates.

According to the study conducted at 11,134 communes and wards of 63 provinces and centrally-run cities, as of December 2014, 9,116 communes and wards were found UXO-contaminated. Especially, there are localities with more 80% of the area contaminated with UXO.

Since 1975, UXO has killed more than 40,000 people and injured 60,000 others. Most of the victims were breadwinners in the families, ethnic minorities, and children.

In some provinces in the Central region, UXO accidents have occurred to more than 22,800 people, leaving 10,540 dead and 12,260 injured.

In five years, from 2013 to 2018, there were 1,813 cases caught in UXO accidents with nearly 1,000 deaths.