Affiliations: University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Shriners
Hospitals for Children, Los Angeles Unit, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Dr. H.G. Watts, 3449 Las Palmas
Avenue, Glendale, CA 91208, USA. Tel.: +1 818 957 5626; E-mail:
hwatts@ucla.edu
Abstract: Land mines are particularly a problem for children. The deaths and
loss of body parts have been publicized, but the secondary effects – the
loss or maiming of parents, the loss of physical and social space the loss of
access to education, and the loss of cultivatable land with the resultant
malnutrition and sickness, are less frequently considered. "Explosive Remnants
of War" (ERW) is becoming the generic term to refer to land mines, unexploded
ordnance, improvised explosive devices and cluster bombs. The United Nations estimates that there are currently as many as 100
million unexploded landmines with an equal number stockpiled around the world
waiting to be planted. Mines are designed to be difficult to locate and their
clearance is costly. Children in at least 80 countries are at risk due to ERW. The type
of mine, the proximity of the child to the explosion, and location of the mine
in relation to the child's body are the important determinants of the nature
and severity of the injury. Children are especially susceptible to picking up
explosive remnants thinking they are toys. The result is commonly loss of the
hands, facial injuries, blindness and deafness. Rehabilitation for these
children is extremely difficult due to remoteness and the limited resources
available.
Keywords: Children and explosive remnant of war, landmines, rehabilitation, amputation
