National Strategies

Strategic Planning in Mine Action

Mine action takes place in conflict or post-conflict contexts by a range of national and international governmental and non-governmental actors. The process of developing, implementing and reviewing national mine action strategies brings these stakeholders together, to clarify needs and priorities, and identify opportunities and risks. National strategies that are context-specific, evidence-based and realistic allow affected countries and their partners to communicate consistently around priorities, make informed decisions, allocate resources, and prioritise activities. This helps maximise the impact of mine action efforts and minimise the risks to communities affected by explosive ordnance.

Inclusive strategic planning processes allow explosive ordnance-affected countries to tap into unique partner expertise and integrate diverse needs, perspectives, and priorities into their national mine action strategies. 

Working closely with national authorities and local partners, the GICHD’s strategic planning support contributes to sustainable mine action programmes that are aligned with the needs and priorities of the affected governments and the communities they serve. Engaging relevant ministries further facilitates mine action’s integration with broader sectors and alignment with priorities in national-level plans and strategies.  

The GICHD’s strategic planning support to affected and donor countries generally spans several years, focusing on strategy development, implementation, and review. Experience from several countries shows that strategic planning processes are valuable in and of themselves by bringing stakeholders together to discuss challenges and identify solutions, promoting a greater understanding among partners and willingness to collaborate. 

By adopting an all-inclusive approach to mine action, strategic planning processes also emphasise the connections between different thematic areas. The GICHD’s experience shows that a greater understanding of how these areas connect often results in strengthened collaboration and information sharing between different units and organisations. GICHD supports these processes by tapping into its in-house expertise in different thematic areas, including information management, land release, standards, gender and diversity inclusion, and explosive ordnance (EO) risk education. 

In addition to supporting EO-affected countries, the GICHD also supports donor countries with developing and reviewing their mine action strategies, using a similar strategic planning process, where context analysis is key.