North Korea has a life expectancy of 69.7 years as of 2014. 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. Instead, it is closer to the worldwide averages, with non-communicable diseases - such as cardiovascular disease - accounting for two-thirds of the total deaths.
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.
Video Health in North Korea
Health infrastructure
Healthcare in North Korea includes a national medical service and health insurance system. North Korea's government provides universal health care for all citizens.
North Korean health services are offered for free. In 2001 North Korea spent 3% of its gross domestic product on health care. Beginning in the 1950s, the DPRK 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. Special health care is available mainly in cities, where pharmacies are also common. Essential medicines are well available. There are hospitals attached to factories and mines.
Most hospitals that exist today were built in the 1960s and 1970s. During the rule of Kim Il-sung, effective mandatory health checkups and immunization programs were initiated. 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. 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.
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 US and the international community. 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.
In 2010, the World Health Organization 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." WHO criticized an earlier Amnesty International report that described "barely functioning hospitals" as outdated and factually inaccurate.
Maps Health in North Korea
Health status
Life expectancy
North Korea has a life expectancy of 69.7 years (in 2014). The 2009 gender breakdown was 72.8 years life expectancy for females and 64.9 for males.
Malnutrition
During the 1990s, North Korea was ravaged by famine, causing the death of between 500,000 and 3 million people. 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. A study of North Koreans in 2008 found that three-quarters of respondents had reduced their food intake. 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.
These food shortages cause a number of malnutrition diseases. For example, 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".
Non-communicable diseases
Cardiovascular disease as a single disease group is the largest cause of death in North Korea (2013). The three major causes of death in DPR Korea are ischaemic heart disease (13%), lower respiratory infections (11%) and cerebrovascular disease (7%).
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.
Approximately 54.8% of all North Korean adult males smoke an average of 15 cigarettes per day. Smoking prevalence is slightly higher amongst the urban worker population than the farming population. 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)
Dental health
In the past, North Koreans did not have many problems with dental health because their diet did not include lots of sugars. 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.
Infectious diseases
In 2003, infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis, malaria, and hepatitis B, were described as endemic to North Korea. An estimated 4.5% of North Koreans had hepatitis B in 2003.
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".
In 2010, infections that cause pneumonia and diarrhea were reported to be the leading causes of child death. In 2009, one-third of the school-age children in North Korea were assessed as having diseases caused by intestinal parasites.
HIV/AIDS
The government has always maintained that North Korea is completely free of AIDS. In 2018, WHO's North Korean office said there were no reported HIV positive cases in the country. According to UNAIDS, less than 0.2% of North Korea's adult population had HIV in 2006.
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. However, according to the UN Population Fund in 2001, even hospital staff occasionally had limited awareness. Travel across the border to China has been seen as a risk factor.
In 2011, North Korea spent a million dollars on HIV prevention with similar figures for previous years. The same year, North Korea received 75,000 dollars of international aid for combating HIV/AIDS. There are testing points and clinics, but no antiretroviral therapy was reportedly available in 2006.
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. North Korea deports visitors upon discovery of HIV status.
See also
- Disability in North Korea
- On the further improvement of the health service
References
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.
External links
- 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. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2016.
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