The HALO Trust

Protecting biodiversity in El Salvador! 🌱 In collaboration with the Ministry of the Environment, HALO’s Mangrove Biodiversity Restoration and Protection Project in #ElSalvador recently carried out a reforestation campaign in the Nancuchiname 2 Protected Natural Area in the Xiriualtique Biosphere Reserve, Jiquilisco, Usulután. With the participation of the local community, more than one hundred native trees were planted, helping to protect the biodiversity and natural resources of this area. Each tree planted is an action to preserve the future of our planet. Thanks to everyone who joined this cause! 🌎💚

The HALO Trust #Ukraine recently delivered vital demining equipment to the State Special Transport Service, thanks to generous support from the Canadian government. As part of a project by HALO and the Peace and Stabilisation Operations Programme (PSOPs), the demining teams of the State Special Transport Service received 13 Toyota Hilux 4x4 vehicles, enabling them to expand their rescue operations in Ukraine's mine-affected regions. "This collaboration is invaluable. With Canada’s support, I’m confident this partnership will only grow stronger, enhancing our capacity to achieve our shared goal – saving lives," said Denys Holovetskyi of HALO Ukraine. "Our programme is committed to demining, and it’s clear that efforts like these are essential to ensuring a safe future for Ukraine," added Pamela Moore, Executive Director of PSOPs at Global Affairs Canada. With heartfelt thanks to Державна спеціальна служба транспорту for their dedication to our joint mission, and to Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada for their support in rebuilding Ukrainian communities.

Training for emergencies in #Malawi 🚨 HALO Malawi has delivered training courses for ammunition storekeepers and store supervisors in Zomba, as well as the Malawi Armed Forces College, in Salima -a key part of which is emergency planning and disaster management drills. Last month, Malawi’s emergency services held practice drills at the Cobbe Barracks Ordnance Depot in Zomba. With civilians living just 400m away, this training helps to mitigate risks posed to the local community as well as staff within the barracks. The drills were organised by the Cobbe Barracks Ammunition Technician, who has attended an International Ammunition Technical Officers Course. With thanks to the U.S. Department of State for funding our work in Malawi.

🎧 Listen: HALO's Head of Policy James Denselow spoke to Vatican News at the start of UN #DisarmamentWeek. James discusses the global challenge of disarmament at a time when "we are seeing a record number of conflicts around the world since World War II." "With more than 90 countries involved in external conflicts, he explained, the need for arms control has never been more urgent." Listen now ➡️ https://bit.ly/4eg9nF7

Illicit firearms drive national insecurity and violence against civilians. Action must be taken to curb their flow and ensure a safer and more equitable future. As UN #DisarmamentWeek (Oct 24-30) starts, we’re sharing the inspiring story of Nama, a trailblazing woman working for HALO #Libya through our Women Managing Weapons project. Women lack opportunities for training in the technical subjects they need to be leaders and specialists in the sector. HALO is committed to ensuring women's full participation, building a new generation of female experts and leaders in the field. “Women participating in weapons and ammunition management courses is essential and necessary to achieve gender equality in the sector,” says Nama. “With training and the development of technical skills, women, including myself, can better compete for senior management level positions.” Thank you to CanadaDev for supporting our Women Managing Weapons project. Read Nama's story here: ➡️ https://bit.ly/4dYL9yW

We are proud to share about our partnership with The The HALO Trust Trust, one of the world’s largest and oldest humanitarian landmine clearance organisations. Rural Senses conducted an impact evaluation for their work in Zimbabwe and found a cross-sectoral impact. Our approach to conduct the evaluation was #AI_enabled and #community_led: Local data collectors from the region led open conversations in the local language with community members to explore the changes the project created. #AI models were used for “Outcome Harvesting” - identifying the key changes people mentioned from the open conversations. We then launched a second data collection to quantify the breadth and depth of the changes. FInally, all data was analysed and visualised on our impact dashboard that provides a simple yet powerful visualisation of the impact, as well as free conversation (Chat-GPT-like) with the data. The use of open conversations with the local community members assured us we capture the actual changes including independent and unintended. The use of AI allowed us to do this effectively at scale. The interactive dashboard makes the results accessible and actionable. While the impact dashboard is used by The Halo Trust, the summary of the findings can be found in this article.

Last week, HALO was in attendance at the Ukraine Mine Action Conference, where over 60 representatives from various countries and organisations gathered in Switzerland. #UMAC2024 #Ukraine is the most heavily mined country in the world, and the conference focused on the long and difficult process of demining the land and making it safe for local communities. With thanks to the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA for hosting this conference. HALO's Simon Tiller reflects on the event in Lausanne: 🔽

HALO was pleased to welcome James Gough, alumnus of the McCain Institute Leadership Programme, to our UNGA side event in New York last month, where speakers included Prince Harry and Téte António, Angola's Minister of External Relations. The event reflected on HALO's achievements in #Angola and the incredible commitment of the Angolan government to demining the country, as well the work that still lies ahead. "The work in Angola required a deep commitment by all partners in the face of what must have felt like an insurmountable task. It is a shining example of integral development work.” Read James Gough's reflections on the event here: ➡️ https://bit.ly/3A3uSuv

Almost $70 million for demining Ukraine, a new innovative project with Palantir Technologies, and additional GCS-200 machines for The State Emergency Service of Ukraine. The first day of Ukraine Mine Action Conference in Lausanne, was full of announcements from our partners. 🇱🇺 Luxembourg committed to allocate $13 million; 🇳🇴 Norway adds another $20 million for 2025, bringing its total contribution to $70 million for humanitarian demining in Ukraine; 🇳🇱 The Netherlands, having already contributed more than $40 million, announced an additional $10.8 million for 2025 projects; 🇨🇦 Canada allocated $24.5 million, bringing its total funding in the sector to over $50 million; 🇱🇻 The Latvian government allocated over €270,000 for humanitarian demining through The HALO Trust. Additionally, in September, the U.S. announced $102 million for humanitarian demining. Now, at the conference, they revealed plans to assess the needs of Ukrainian demining operators to help them access international support. 📌 Beyond funding, we’re also bringing to Ukraine new equipment. Soon, The State Emergency Service of Ukraine will receive three GCS-200 demining machines. 💻 We’re also enhancing innovations in demining. Together with the governments of Switzerland and the UK, we’re launching a three-month pilot project for demining prioritization in #Kharkiv region. This project will determine which areas should be demined first to have the greatest positive impact on civilian safety and economic recovery. The project will be implemented on the platform of tech company Palantir Technologies, which specializes in big data analytics. All these decisions once again show that the world stands with Ukraine. It’s a manifestation of the willingness of our partners to support us on this long and difficult journey. Together, we’ve already proven that by joining forces, we can make real progress. Of course, much work still lies ahead. Our goal is to clear 80% of the contaminated areas within the next 10 years. Now we need to implement long-term programs and concrete actions. The Lausanne Call to Action will serve as a roadmap for future support. I’m grateful to all 60 countries and organizations that joined us today. Together, we can make Ukrainian land safer.