Malnutrition And Disease Became Increase In North Korea.
The Rates of malnutrition and disease are increasing in North Korea as it faces a harvest that is half of what was expected,
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies IFRC Reveals, this Thursday.
According to this report, the International aid agencies as well as North Korea state media have been warning that erratic weather with drought and floods, and a lack of access to resources could lead to a food crisis in a country under strict international sanctions over leader Kim Jong Un’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
We are already seeing the impacts of this drought on vulnerable people, Mohamed Babiker, head of the IFRC office in North Korea, said this in a statement this Thursday.
While the rates of malnutrition and water borne diseases like diarrhea and colitis keep rising.
After an assessment in May concluded that this year harvest would be less than half what it should be, the IFRC spent 250,000 Swiss francs $253,787 on deploying mobile water pumps, which were able to double crop yields in the targeted areas.
Water pumps and irrigation supplies can make a significant difference, according to Babiker he said, calling for an additional 472,000 Swiss francs $479,284 for more agricultural and sanitation supplies.
North Korea increased imports of fertilizer and food products last year, according to trade data compiled by the United Nations.
But the Center for Advanced Defense Studies C4ADS, a Washington based think tank, documented in a report this week and how North Korea also continues to import millions of dollars worth of luxury goods, including at least two armored limousines valued at $500,000 each.
South Koreas intelligence agency told lawmakers this Tuesday that drought had hit the North Korean economy which already faces difficulties such as widening trade deficits, foreign currency shortages and a deepening cash crunch due to sanctions.
Rainfall in North Korea has fallen by more than 30% this year from a year before, and there are signs of a deteriorating food situation, according to Lee Eun jae, one of the lawmakers briefed by the spy agency.
North Korea is expected to exhaust its crop reserves earlier than usual this year, said Lee.
South Korea has said it would donate $4.5 million to the U.N. World Food Programme WFP, and announced it was also providing 50,000 tonnes of rice for delivery to its northern neighbor.
South Korea also recently donated $3.5 million to the U.N. Childrens Fund UNICEF for humanitarian projects in North Korea.
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