The Costs

• Who Do Landmines Strike?
• Most Commonly Observed Patterns of Injury
• The Cost to Society
• Amputees in Society
• Impact on Society
• Refugees
• Landmines and the Environment

The Cost to Society

Societies with the most severe anti-personnel mine problems are often the poorest in the world and already shattered by war. Their medical infrastructure is usually very basic disorganized. Trained medical personnel and hospitals are scarce. In Afghanistan, 84% of mine victims and in Cambodia 61%, reportedly went into debt to pay for their medical treatment.

In addition to the dangers to the individual, landmines also increase the likelihood of water-borne diseases (lack of access to safe water), malnutrition (insufficient land that can be farmed) and infectious diseases (vaccination teams avoid mined areas). The large number of blood transfusions needed by mine victims can also heighten the risk of the transmission of syphilis, malaria, hepatitis and HIV. Surgery for landmine victims can require seven times the amount of blood than is required for a bullet wound.

Landmines have long-term effects on national development: social structures like hospitals are overburdened; farming and transport services grind to a halt; reconstruction of infrastructure is slow, dangerous and costly; the price of basic goods rocket, and the cost of mine-clearance siphons off already scarce funds.

Video:

Social Costs of Landmine Proliferation

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