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An antiquated medicine cupboard at one of DPRK's major hospitals; even prior to the floods medical supplies were desperately low
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While relief activity starts up in the face of last week’s devastating floods in DPRK (North Korea), the most urgent need of all is for medicines and antibiotics, according to the government and DPRK Red Cross.
Information on the full impact of the floods is still limited, but at least 300,000 people have been affected, most of them in villages already suffering from shortages of food and medical supplies.
World Vision National Director Victor Hsu said “Even before the floods whenever I visited hospitals and clinics across the country there was always a shortage of medicines and medical supplies. The pharmacies were empty of supplies.”
Responding to the urgent request, World Vision Canada is negotiating to send Physician's Travel Packs, medical disaster kits that can treat 700-800 people and contain at least 50 different types of essential medicines. The Physician's Travel Packs are expected to arrive DPRK along with around $300,000 worth of additional medical supplies, in early September.
A shipment of relief kits containing family supplies and food arrived yesterday from World Vision Korea, destined for communities in North Hwanghae province where World Vision has been operating an agricultural project.
World Vision plans to send a small team to flood-affected areas in early September to coincide with the arrival of their medical supplies. As well as overseeing distribution, they will also help to assess community needs.
North Hwanghae has been designated as World Vision’s humanitarian zone within DPRK and many development initiatives in this province will have been affected by the disaster. As well as emergency supplies of food aid to the area, rebuilding basic infrastructure will almost certainly be a priority.
“We have heard that at least fifty percent of clinics have been destroyed,” said Victor on Tuesday. “And with many children already suffering malnutrition, the international community needs to work together to avoid fullscale calamity.”
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