Health in North Korea

Staff at Pyongyang Maternity Hospital

North Korea has a life expectancy of 71.69 years as of 2016[1]. While North Korea is classified as a low-income country, the structure of North Korea's causes of death (2013) is unlike that of other low-income countries.[2] Instead, it is closer to the worldwide averages, with non-communicable diseases – such as cardiovascular disease – accounting for two-thirds of the total deaths.[2]

A 2013 study stated that the largest obstacle for understanding the accurate health status of North Korea is the lack of the validity and reliability of its health data.[2]

Health infrastructure

Healthcare in North Korea includes a national medical service and health insurance system.[3] North Korea's government provides universal health care for all citizens.

North Korean health services are offered for free.[4] In 2001 North Korea spent 3% of its gross domestic product on health care. Beginning in the 1950s, North Korea put great emphasis on healthcare, and between 1955 and 1986, the number of hospitals grew from 285 to 2,401, and the number of clinics – from 1,020 to 5,644.[5] Special health care is available mainly in cities,[6] where pharmacies are also common.[7] Essential medicines are well available.[8] There are hospitals attached to factories and mines.

Most hospitals that exist today were built in the 1960s and 1970s.[9] During the rule of Kim Il-sung, effective mandatory health checkups and immunization programs were initiated.[10] The country could support a large corps of doctors due to their low salaries. The number of doctors remains high, though there is a shortage of nurses, meaning that doctors often have to perform routine procedures. The medical infrastructure is fairly effective in preventative medicine, but less so in terms of treating the more demanding conditions.[11] Since 1979 more emphasis has been put on traditional Korean medicine, based on treatment with herbs and acupuncture A national telemedicine network was launched in 2010. It connects the Kim Man Yu Hospital in Pyongyang with 10 provincial medical facilities.[12]

North Korea's healthcare system suffered a steep decline since the 1990s because of natural disasters, economic problems, and food and energy shortages. By 2001, many hospitals and clinics in North Korea lacked essential medicines, equipment and running water due to the economic embargo and blockade by the United States and the international community.[13] Electricity shortages remain the biggest problem. Even if sophisticated equipment were available, they are rendered useless if electricity is not available. Some facilities have generators available to meet demand during power outages.[6]

In 2010, the World Health Organization (WHO) described the healthcare system as "the envy of the developing world" while acknowledging that "challenges remained, including poor infrastructure, a lack of equipment, malnutrition and a shortage of medicines." The WHO criticized an earlier Amnesty International report that described "barely functioning hospitals" as outdated and factually inaccurate.[14]

Health status

North Korea's first leader Kim Il-sung depicted smoking.
North Korea's first leader Kim Il-sung depicted smoking.

Life expectancy

North Korea has a life expectancy of 71.69 years (as of 2016).[15] The 2009 gender breakdown was 72.8 years life expectancy for females and 64.9 for males.[16]

Period Life expectancy in
Years		 Period Life expectancy in
Years
1950–1955 37.6 1985–1990 68.6
1955–1960 49.9 1990–1995 70.0
1960–1965 51.6 1995–2000 63.5
1965–1970 57.2 2000–2005 68.1
1970–1975 61.7 2005–2010 68.4
1975–1980 65.0 2010–2015 70.8
1980–1985 67.1

Source: UN World Population Prospects[17]

Malnutrition

During the 1990s, North Korea was ravaged by famine, causing the death of between 500,000 and 3 million people.[3] Food shortages are ongoing today, with factors such as bad weather, lack of fertilizer and a drop in international donation meaning that North Koreans do not have enough to eat.[18] A study of North Koreans in 2008 found that three-quarters of respondents had reduced their food intake.[18] Extreme poverty is also a factor in the hunger faced by North Korean people, with 27% of the population living at or below the absolute poverty line of less than US $1 a day.[3]

These food shortages cause a number of malnutrition diseases. A 2009 UNICEF report found that North Korea was “one of 18 countries with the highest prevalence of stunting (moderate and severe) among children under 5 years old”.[18] A survey in 2017 found that less than 20% of North Korean children were stunted, a decrease from 32% in 2009.[19]

Sanitation

A survey conducted in 2017 found that most people had access to a toilet, but that 93% of sanitation facilities were not connected to a sewage system. Rather, the human waste was used as fertilizer on fields, creating the potential health risk of spreading intestinal worms. The survey also found that a quarter of people had contaminated drinking water.[20]

Ophthalmology

In 2006, Professor Gerd Auffarth of Heidelberg University Eye Hospital in Germany was permitted to visit the country. He is one of the few Western surgeons to have carried out eye surgery in North Korea. Before he arrived in Pyongyang, he was authorized to do just five surgeries but once he reached the University Hospital he found that he could do seventeen: one perforating keratoplasty using donor tissue he had brought from Germany, three scleral-fixated secondary IOL implantations, and thirteen phacoemulsification procedures with IOL implants. All the procedures were conducted with topical anaesthesia which had been brought from Germany. He reported on his experiences in 2011 in a video entitled, Ophthalmology Behind the Iron Curtain: Cataract Surgery in North Korea, saying that the economic conditions have led to improvisations - especially because of the absence of consumable medical devices but he commented that once a visiting surgeon adapts to these unique surroundings, he found that teaching and clinical work could be very effective and satisfying for both surgeon and patient.[21] As a consequence of this visit, in 2007 two young North Korean ophthalmic surgeons were permitted to visit Heidelberg and remain for six months, gaining extensive training in cataract surgery.

Another foreign ophthalmologist to visit North Korea to do surgery there is Sanduk Ruit from Nepal.[22] The Nepalese Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology trains North Korean practitioners of ophthalmology.[23]

Non-communicable diseases

Cardiovascular disease as a single disease group is the largest cause of death in North Korea (2013).[2] The three major causes of death in DPR Korea are ischaemic heart disease (13%), lower respiratory infections (11%) and cerebrovascular disease (7%).[16]

Non-communicable diseases risk factors in North Korea include high rates of urbanisation, an aging society, high rates of smoking and alcohol consumption amongst men.[2]

Approximately 54.8% of all North Korean adult males smoke an average of 15 cigarettes per day.[16] Smoking prevalence is slightly higher amongst the urban worker population than the farming population.[16] Amongst men, a high rate of excessive alcohol consumption has been reported, defined by the world health organisation as consumption of more than one bottle, per sitting, per person (26.3% of males)[16]

Dental health

A dental clinic at Pyongyang Maternity Hospital

In the past, North Koreans did not have many problems with dental health because their diet did not include lots of sugars.[24] Since the 2000s, sugar has been introduced to diets in the form of candies and sweet snacks, especially in urban areas. Toothpaste is not regularly used.[25]

Infectious diseases

In 2003, infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis, malaria, and hepatitis B, were described as endemic to North Korea.[26] An estimated 4.5% of North Koreans had hepatitis B in 2003.[16]

In 2010, Amnesty International reported that North Korea was experiencing a tuberculosis epidemic, with 5% of the population infected with the disease. It attributed this to the “overall deterioration in health and nutrition status of the population as well as the rundown of the public health services”.[18]

In 2010, infections that cause pneumonia and diarrhea were reported to be the leading causes of child death.[27] In 2009, one-third of the school-age children in North Korea were assessed as having diseases caused by intestinal parasites.[28]

HIV/AIDS

The government has always maintained that North Korea is completely free of AIDS.[29][30][31] According to UNAIDS, less than 0.2% of North Korea's adult population had HIV in 2006.[32] In 2018, WHO's North Korean office said there were no reported HIV positive cases in the country.[33]

A study in 2002 found both men and women were reasonably educated about HIV/AIDS. More than two thirds knew about ways to avoid HIV/AIDS, and there were only few misconceptions.[34] However, according to the UN Population Fund in 2001, even hospital staff occasionally had limited awareness.[30] Travel across the border to China has been seen as a risk factor.[30][35]

In 2011, North Korea spent a million dollars on HIV prevention with similar figures for previous years.[36] The same year, North Korea received 75,000 dollars of international aid for combating HIV/AIDS.[37] There are testing points and clinics,[30] but no antiretroviral therapy was reportedly available in 2006.[32]

North Korea has punitive laws concerning certain populations at risk of HIV/AIDS. According to UNAIDS, such laws can stigmatize those affected by HIV/AIDS and hinder their treatment. North Korea criminalizes the sex trade. Some drug related crimes are a capital offense. On the other hand, drug users are not subjected to compulsory detention. Sex between consenting adult males is not illegal.[38] North Korea deports visitors upon discovery of HIV status.[39]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "World Bank Overview of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea".
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Lee, YH; Yoon, SJ; Kim, YA; Yeom, JW; Oh, IH (2013). "Overview of the burden of diseases in North Korea". J Prev Med Public Health. 46: 111–7. doi:10.3961/jpmph.2013.46.3.111. PMC 3677063. PMID 23766868.
  3. 1 2 3 Library of Congress – Federal Research Division (2007). "Country Profile: North Korea" (PDF). Library of Congress – Federal Research Division. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
  4. ↑ Country Profile 2007, pp. 7–8.
  5. ↑ "North Korea Public Health". Country Studies.
  6. 1 2 Toimela & Aalto 2017, p. 37.
  7. ↑ Toimela & Aalto 2017, pp. 37–38.
  8. ↑ Toimela & Aalto 2017, p. 38.
  9. ↑ Toimela & Aalto 2017, p. 33.
  10. ↑ Lankov 2015, p. 67.
  11. ↑ Lankov 2015, p. 68.
  12. ↑ "NKorea launches telemedicine network with WHO help". The Seattle Times. 27 April 2010. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  13. ↑ "N Korea healthcare 'near collapse'". BBC News. 20 November 2001.
  14. ↑ "Aid agencies row over North Korea health care system". BBC News. 10 July 2010.
  15. ↑ "Life expectancy at birth, total (years). Korea, Dem. People's Rep". World Bank Group. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "WHO country cooperation strategy: Democratic People's Republic of Korea 2009–2013. 2009" (PDF). World Health Organization.
  17. ↑ "World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations". Retrieved 2017-07-15.
  18. 1 2 3 4 Amnesty International 2010 ‘The Crumbling State of Health Care in North Korea’, Amnesty International, viewed 6 September 2010, <"Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 November 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2017. >
  19. ↑ Miles, Tom (21 June 2018). "Tackling North Korea's chronically poor sewage 'not rocket science': U.N." Reuters.
  20. ↑ Miles, Tom (21 June 2018). "Tackling North Korea's chronically poor sewage 'not rocket science': U.N." Reuters.
  21. ↑ "Ophthalmology Behind the Iron Curtain: Cataract Surgery in North Korea". ASCRS/ASOA 2012 - Virtual Films. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  22. ↑ Brown, Sophie (15 December 2014). "Nepalese eye doctor restored vision of 100,000 people". CNN. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  23. ↑ Willoughby, Robert (2014). North Korea: The Bradt Travel Guide (3rd ed.). Chalfront: Bradt Travel Guides. p. 281. ISBN 978-1-84162-476-1.
  24. ↑ Toimela & Aalto 2017, pp. 34–35.
  25. ↑ Toimela & Aalto 2017, p. 35.
  26. ↑ "Life Inside North Korea". U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on 11 July 2008. Retrieved 18 November 2008.
  27. ↑ ["Countdown to 2015 decade report (2000–2010): taking stock of maternal, newborn and child survival.", World Health Organization, 2010.
  28. ↑ [Soil-transmitted helminthiases: estimates of the number of children needing preventive chemotherapy and number treated, 2009. Wkly Epidemiol Rec. 2011;86(25):257–267.]
  29. ↑ "Epidemiological Fact Sheets on HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections : 2004 Update : Democratic People's Republic of Korea" (PDF). UNAIDS / WHO. 2004. p. 6. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  30. 1 2 3 4 O'Byrne, Tom (2 December 2001). "North Korea fights AIDS". ABC Radio National. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  31. ↑ Shim, Elizabeth (1 December 2015). "North Korea says it is 'AIDS-free,' thanks to healthcare system". UPI. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  32. 1 2 "2006 Report on the global AIDS epidemic : A UNAIDS 10th anniversary special edition" (PDF). UNAIDS. 2006. p. 343. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  33. ↑ "World Health Organization: DPR Korea: HIV/AIDS". 2018.
  34. ↑ "Adolescent Health : Fact Sheet : DPR Korea" (PDF). Adolescent of Health Development (AHD) Unit, Department of Family and Community Health, World Health Organization. January 2007. p. 3. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  35. ↑ "Young People and HIV/AIDS : Fact Sheet : DPR Korea" (PDF). Regional Office for South East Asia, World Health Organization. 20 November 2006. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  36. ↑ Global Report 2012, p. A82.
  37. ↑ Global Report 2012, p. A88.
  38. ↑ "HIV in Asia and the Pacific : UNAIDS Report 2013" (PDF). UNAIDS. 2013. p. 27. ISBN 978-92-9253-049-5.
  39. ↑ Global Report 2012, p. 89.

Works cited

  • "Country Profile: North Korea" (PDF). Library of Congress – Federal Research Division. July 2007. Retrieved 4 July 2009.
  • "Global Report : UNAIDS Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic 2012" (PDF). UNAIDS. 2012. ISBN 978-92-9173-592-1. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  • Lankov, Andrei (2015). The Real North Korea: Life and Politics in the Failed Stalinist Utopia. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-939003-8.
  • Toimela, Markku; Aalto, Kaj (2017). Salakahvilla Pohjois-Koreassa: Markku Toimelan jännittävä tie Pohjois-Korean luottomieheksi (in Finnish). Jyväskylä: Docendo. ISBN 978-952-291-369-2.

Further reading

  • Kim Jong-il (July 22, 1992). Some Problems Arising in Improving Public Health (PDF). Pyongyang: Foreign Languages Publishing House.
  • WHO DPR Korea
  • WHO DPR Korea profile
  • WHO Country Cooperation Strategy Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (Archived 8 April 2013 at WebCite)
  • Health in North Korea at Curlie (based on DMOZ)
  • The Public Health Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea: Adopted at the Fourth Session of the Sixth Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea 3 April, 1980 (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2016.

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