What is the humanitarian challenge?

This project focuses on innovating the currently available Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) used in mine action and disarmament to address two issues:

1) to reduce the environmental impact of mine action and disarmament activities by ensuring that all PPE is properly recycled after its life span, and

2) to encourage female participation and gender sensitivity in the sector by developing PPE items that are designed to be used by women.

What is innovative about this project?

The Norwegian Peoples Aid (NPA) intends to establish market dialogues with partners interested in developing: 1) alternative environmentally friendlier materials for the fabrication of PPEs, and new ways of disposing of and recycling different items of PPE particularly in developing countries where mine action and disarmament activities take place; and 2) PPE items that are anatomically fit for women.

What are the expected outcomes?

The aim of this project is to ensure that PPE used in Mine Action and Disarmament can be properly recycled after its life span, and that it is designed to be used by women.

Project partners

Norwegian People's Aid have through an open market dialogue and an innovation-friendly procrement process partnered with two companies for the different components of the project:

• Rofi, for designing PPE for women. Read more about the partnership here.
• Human Brights, for the recycling of PPE