North Korea's public health tragedy

The WHO says North Korea has a good medical infrastructure with 616 general hospitals, 13 tuberculosis institutes, 60 sanatoria, and more than 10 000 beds to cater for just over 22 million people living in 212 countries and 4700 Ri (local districts). During the peak years for public health in North...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Lancet (British edition) 2001-02, Vol.357 (9256), p.628-630
Main Author: Owen-Davies, John
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Diarrhea - epidemiology
Drought
Economic decline
Emergency preparedness
Female
Food Supply - statistics & numerical data
Freezing
Health care
Health Services Needs and Demand
Hospitals
Humanitarian aid
Humans
Korea - epidemiology
Male
Malnutrition
Natural disasters
Nutrition Disorders - epidemiology
Public Health
Soybeans
Starvation
Tuberculosis - epidemiology
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Summary:The WHO says North Korea has a good medical infrastructure with 616 general hospitals, 13 tuberculosis institutes, 60 sanatoria, and more than 10 000 beds to cater for just over 22 million people living in 212 countries and 4700 Ri (local districts). During the peak years for public health in North Korea 30-40 years ago, foreign doctors say that there were major medical achievements. An effective healthcare system, with plenty of human resources, devoted considerable attention to, for example, the control of communicable diseases, and increasing the longevity of North Korea's people. But, added [Eigil Sorensen]: "The problem is that for the past 10 to 15 years they have suffered from a degradation of the healthcare system, with basic problems with water, electricity and heating. Then there is a lack of reserve and an economic decline."
ISSN:0140-6736
1474-547X
DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(00)04062-9