North Korea Grants UNICEF Access to Isolated Provinces

By Lisa Schlein

Geneva

12 July 2008

For the first time in two years, UN humanitarian agencies have beengranted access to two isolated provinces in North Korea. A mission,led by the UN Children's Fund, is leaving the North Korean capitalPyongyang Saturday for the North Eastern provinces of North Hamgyongand Ryanggang. It will assess the critical food and health needs ofthe people. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva.



Theseareas have been off-limits to international aid agencies since the endof 2006. The UN Children's Fund had been active in the region since1999, providing critical support and supplies for basic health,nutrition and water supply services.

UNICEF spokeswoman,Veronique Taveau, tells VOA the agency's country team has beennegotiating with the government to reassume humanitarian access tothese two remote provinces since early 2007.

"We know that thesituation in those two provinces for children is quite bad, so that iswhy it is very important for us to go there to be able to reach themost vulnerable children and to assess the situation," she said.

Duringthe next 11 days, Taveau says the 10-member team will visit hospitals,health facilities and institutions for children in county towns andvillages. She says the experts will finalize arrangements to traindoctors and caregivers in the treatment of malnutrition and monitor theuse of supplies.

The World Food Program has just completed anassessment on food security, which shows there are a large number ofmalnourished children in the two remote North Eastern provinces, bothbadly affected by last year's floods.

Taveau says surveys conducted a few years ago indicate high levels of malnutrition among children.

"Whatwe know is that 37 percent of children below the age of five arealready malnourished and that is a very, very high number," she added. "What we also know is that mortality rates for children, for babies inNorth Korea is 55 for 1,000 births. So, it is really a very highrate. So, that is why we are very worried and concerned about thesituation."

UNICEF says it is urgent to reach vulnerablechildren quickly with food, basic health and nutrition services and toensure that severely malnourished children get the treatment needed tosave their lives.

On Friday, UNICEF trucks loaded withnutritional supplies and medicines left Pyongyang for the North EasternProvinces. The arduous journey over mountainous roads is expected totake four days.

The relief supplies include therapeutic milk andfood for severely malnourished children as well as enough essentialmedicines to treat nearly 400,000 people over the next three months.