Manchester-based Mines Advisory Group gets more UK government cash to help war-torn communities

  • Report by Rob Jaskowski, ITV News Granada Reports

The Manchester-based Mines Advisory Group (MAG) will receive an extra £17m of UK government cash to help war-torn communities across the world.

It comes as the humanitarian group continues to help diffuse deadly explosive devices in Ukraine, after more than two years of conflict with Russia.

Aid worker Jon Cunliffe, from Bury, says he's proud he can help farmers in war-torn Ukraine clear their land of deadly landmines.

Jon heads up the Mines Advisory Group's de-mining task force in Ukraine.

The delicate process is also combating food insecurity for the poorest people across the world.

The UK government's Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office says two years on from Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine has overtaken Iraq and Afghanistan to become the most heavily mined country on the planet.

UK funding to clear mines around the world will protect more than 50,000 people. Credit: Mines Advisory Group

Jon said: “De-mining is not just saving lives and reviving farmers’ livelihoods in Ukraine – our work also helps feed people all over the world.

“Ukraine is one of the most world’s most important grain exporters, so this war has had a serious knock-on effect for the poorest countries.

“Since this war erupted, the price of a loaf of bread has probably gone up 10 or 20 pence in the UK. If you think how British people are feeling the pinch from the cost-of-living crisis, in the world’s poorest countries, that increase in price is even more devastating.

“People are suffering worldwide from increased grain prices because Ukraine’s agricultural land is strewn with landmines and unexploded ordnance so too dangerous to farm.

“The pressure to get that land back into productive use is not just from Ukrainian farmers and its government, but from the international community as well. I am proud our demining work can make such a difference.”

Dealing with unexploded mines is a skilled job which people in Ukraine are learning to do with MAG's help Credit: Mines Advisory Group

Ukraine has long been a top grain exporter, so the fact roughly 156,000 sq km of agricultural land has been rendered too dangerous to farm, means Russia’s invasion has had global consequences, especially for food insecurity.

Manchester-based MAG and Scottish de-mining charity The HALO Trust have been using £11.6million of UK Government funding to bring land mined by Russian forces back into productive use.

Minister for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, said: "Landmines are a nightmare – causing thousands of deaths and injuries each year.

"The UK remains committed in its determination to work towards a mine-free world and is delighted to award extra funding to MAG and The HALO Trust to continue their life-saving work.

"We want to help both organisations create safe and secure environments where communities live freely without fear of the deadly threat of landmines."

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