The UK government has pledged £2 million to help eradicate landmines following the visit of the Duke of Sussex to Angola. Ministers said they would match the public donations to an appeal in Zimbabwe to help destroy the weapons.
The move came after Prince Harry walked in the footsteps of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales to see the work that continues to remove landmines which still kill and injure hundreds every year. Harry also put on body armour to tour an area still being cleared of the weapons and helped to deactivate a mine during his trip to Angola at the end of September.
Embed from Getty ImagesDuring his visit, the Duke of Sussex said ”A staggering 60 million people around the world still live in fear and risk of landmines. We cannot turn our backs on them and leave a job half done”.
The personal element of this campaign was clear in more of Harry’s words as he spoke movingly about the importance Diana, Princess of Wales had placed on the issue of landmines. Harry said ”There are still more than 1,000 minefields in this beautiful country that remain to be cleared. I wonder if she was still alive whether that would still be the case. I’m pretty sure she would have seen it through”.
Harry spent time with the HALO Trust during his visit, just as Diana did when she put the issue on the global agenda with her work in early 1997. The Trust said that the money that’s now been pledged would help them clear twice as many mines and help double the amount of people.
