The Republic of Congo, one of the most urbanized countries in Africa, has suffered through repeated periods of conflict and civil war in the late 1990's which have killed more than 10,000 civilians, and which resulted in the displacement of more than 800,000. Much of the violence was carried out by militia groups who reportedly obtained over 24,000 arms through widespread looting of police and military depots.

Strenuous efforts were made to recover these weapons, through informal disarmament and reintegration programs between 1999 and 2002, but in 2005 it was estimated that 34,000 weapons still remained in circulation.

Many of the weapons and unexploded ordnance which were successfully seized are now being stored in and around military depots in highly populated areas, in conditions which pose a threat to human safety and security. The presence of unsecured weapons and ammunition also provides a viable and common means for militia groups to rearm in the event of renewed conflict in the country.

In addition, unsafe storage conditions increase the likelihood of ammunition store fires or explosions, which have already occurred on several occasions in the country, and have resulted in civilian deaths and casualties long after the initial detonation through the contamination of wide areas by unexploded ordnance (UXO).

GlobalMedic paramedic Josh Hehner, who will be working in the region for 12 weeks, is providing training to the members of the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) Republic of Congo Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) team, made up of MAG technical advisors and members of the Republic of Congo's Armed Forces. This group is engaged in the destruction of stockpiles of machine guns, ammunition, rockets, missiles, bombs and landmines, which currently pose a hazard due to their degraded state, poor storage conditions, and proximity to local communities.

The training has focused on first aid, trauma management and CPR, and on the practical techniques that may be called upon in the event of an accident, such as spinal immobilization and the running of portable oxygen systems.

Josh is also providing a capacity-building program developed by GlobalMedics in "Trauma Management and Field Medicine" for a group of local nurses, formerly employed by Medecins Sans Frontières (MSF), who hope to begin working with MAG teams on an expanded explosive remnants of war (ERW) clearance program set to begin in the fall.