Since any attempt to determine the number of mines laid around the world will only be an estimate, mine action groups now focus attention on the humanitarian crisis posed by landmines. Landmines cause huge barriers to social and economic development in some of the world s poorest countries. It is estimated that since 1975, there have been more than one million landmine casualties most of them civilians, many of them children. Where they do not kill immediately, landmines severely maim their victims, causing trauma, lifelong pain and often social stigma. World wide there are some 250,000 landmine amputees.
Survivors face terrible physical, psychological and socio-economic difficulties.
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