Additional Context: These demining survey and clearance operations were being led by the Belgian organization APOPO, whose U.S. grant was terminated in late February 2025. Zimbabwe has declared that the withdrawal of APOPO from the country — alongside a 50% capacity drop for another organization, HALO, also caused by U.S. funding cuts — has made the destruction of anti-personnel mines in its jurisdiction “extremely unattainable by any time before 2030."

Devex Researcher Note: Around 90% of APOPO's funding came from the U.S. State Department's Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement. In 2024, the U.S. had provided 31% of all international support for landmine response in Zimbabwe. There are up to 5.5 thousand mines per kilometer on parts of the border between these countries. Monitoring groups have noted the significant risk for communities and wildlife as a result of these mines.

Source: Mine Action Review