Lisa Byrne has been based in Lao PDR for the past two years as part of the Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) unit at UNDP. Originally from Ireland, she works full-time within the national clearance operator, UXO Lao, as part of the Programme Office and Public Information team. She regularly visits rural and remote villages where the national agency operates, monitoring survey and clearance tasks and meeting locals affected by UXO-related injuries and deaths. Going forward, she hopes that there are no more devastating UXO accidents and that Laos will be completely free from UXOs.
February 17, 2020
While the rest of the world signed on to the ambitious plan of achieving 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, the small land-locked country of Lao PDR took it a step further. Sustainable Development Goal 18 (SDG18) is Lao PDR’s unique national goal aimed at combating the extreme challenge of dealing with millions of Unexploded…