NK Investigative Report 2001

North Korea Investigative Report

Week 4 - Health (cont)

An In-Depth Look

One of the most detrimental effects of the famine has been the horrible impact on health conditions outside of Pyongyang. The main cause of the diseases prevalent in North Korea is a result of malnutrition. According to people we encountered, almost everyone does not consume enough calories each day. The food they eat contains few essential nutrients. When these people get a small infection or even a cold, it's difficult to recover quickly. The condition sometimes worsens to more serious diseases.

A shortage of food isn't the only problem. Hospitals outside of Pyongyang lack essential medicines. According to many different sources, there is a great need for rubbing alcohol and gauze to treat minor cuts and infections. Sometimes patients share disinfectants, which spreads bacteria. Many hospitals don't have simple painkillers, and most treatments are one night rest on a hospital bed, even though beds are scarce. These hospitals are so ill-equipped that most households in the U.S. have more medicine than a typical North Korean hospital.

Water

Drinking water is available for only an hour or two each day. As a result, people will drink water from rivers or lakes contaminated with bacteria that cause stomachaches and diarrhea. In some parts of the country, river water is contaminated with sewage and feces. People who drink this water can become infected with cholera, which is fatal if not treated properly. Many North Koreans have died from this disease, which is almost non-existent in developed countries. A simple drug can treat the problem, but many do not have access to this medicine. A doctor we met delivers hundreds of boxes of this medicine to various towns, but they run out fast. Many North Korean border guards are infected with cholera and often ask for this medicine.

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is another disease that is rare in developed countries. It has made a recent comeback because of the AIDS epidemic, but AIDS is non-existent in North Korea. Most cases of tuberculosis are caused by patients who are too sick from malnutrition. A doctor who often visits North Korea predicted that in many areas almost 30 percent of the population is infected tuberculosis. Because it's an air-borne disease, it is likely that more will become infected and die.

Children

Many kids are going blind because of poor nutrition. This phenomenon has been seen in very poor African countries, and can be prevented with an adequate intake of Vitamin A. Most children have stunted growth - few older than 16 are greater than 5 feet tall. Infants and babies also experience health problems due to malnourished mothers and lack of feeding. Many babies born within the past five or six years are deformed.

Health is a big concern for North Koreans, but many lack the money to buy medicine. Even if someone had money, it's very difficult to obtain common medications. Soap is a rare commodity. The U.S. and South Korea have sent medicine to North Korea, but different sources tell us that these do not make it down to citizens who need it most.

One person we talked to regularly delivers medicine to different parts of North Korea. A Korean-Chinese doctor, who has accepted Christ few years back, is heavily involved in this cause. Although living comfortably as a doctor, God's calling led this believer to risk personal and family safety for the sake of helping the sick and needy in North Korea.

Here are some of the doctor's observations:
o People were seen lying in the streets barely moving. Also many dead bodies.
o Hospital staff was seen putting the same gauze with rubbing alcohol on five different people.
o Attempts were made to treat as many people as encountered, but many times it's futile because they were suffering from starvation.
o Soldiers often beg for cholera medicine, so that is used instead of money as payment to enter North Korea.
o Many people were seen excreting blood and dying of cholera, but there is no North Korean medicine to treat them.
o Caution must be taken because many patients have tuberculosis, and there are no antibiotics to treat this disease.

A nutritional survey conducted by the UN in 1998 determined that 63 percent of North Korean children were too small (or stunted) for their age as a result of undernourishment, a factor that can affect the intellectual development of children.

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