NORTH KOREA FOOD CRISIS UPDATE
December 11, 1997 -- North Koreans
have harvested almost four tons of food -- not nearly the amount need to
adequately feed a nation. They are planting crops everywhere from flood-recovered
fields to rooftops to rocky hillsides while children spend 12-hour days
following harvesters in search of fallen grain. Observers agree that despite
damaging cuts in livestock feeding and heroic personal sacrifices, the
food which the weakened population has stored in its granaries lies will
only suffice for seven months.
CARE was part of a food monitoring consortium, which spent an unprecedented three months in North Korea. Team members tell stories of quiet deprivation, sickness, and desperation. "Standing on a bridge, overlooking a muddy little stream, I saw a skinny boy of about 7 years inching along, catching minnows with his hands and holding his prize of three tiny fish skewered on a stick held firmly between his teeth. That evening, when we visited a home in the nearby village, which we knew to be doing pretty badly, we were amazed to find at least fifteen different dishes laid out for us, each holding a tiny portion of food. Everyone in the village had chipped in what they had, and I could not believe my eyes when I saw those three tiny minnows lying on a plate," says one consortium food monitor.
In the face of dire need, foods distributed by aid agencies have significantly alleviated the extreme hunger that prevailed through the summer and autumn pre-harvest months. Where food aid reached, daily intake rose from an average 3.5 ounces to between 8.75 - 14 ounces per person -- still well under the recommended daily minimum of 15 ounces per person but enough to make a significant difference in people's resistance to prolonged deprivation. Visitors to North Korea stress that international aid has been a deciding factor in preventing a full-blown famine. They also emphasize that the food was not diverted to political or military elite but instead reached the most vulnerable people.
Consortium Ends First Phase
On November 14, 1997, the Consortium, consisting of Amigos Internacionales, CARE, Catholic Relief Service, Mercy Corps and World Vision, completed the first phase of its work in North Korea. The group monitored the distribution of 55,000 MT of U.S. Government-donated food, staying longer and traveling more extensively than any other U.S. group in the country. Over the course of three months, the Consortium monitored the quality and delivery of three shipments of agricultural commodities, thereby providing a month's worth of food to over 5 million people across the country.
What's Next?
CARE expects to continue its relief to the people of North Korea. Beginning in January, CARE -- joined by UNICEF and the original consortium members -- will address the critical need for medicines and basic health services. Many hospitals and clinics have bare pharmacy shelves and empty supply closets. Lacking even such basic supplies as anesthesia, antiseptic, food and heat, health centers have little to offer people in desperate need of medical attention.
With funding from the USAID Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), Project THINK (Targeting Health in North Korea) will enable the Consortium and UNICEF to implement a program to health providers in 100 counties of North Korea -- about half the country. The project provides basic medicines, vaccines, equipment, and funding for a Consortium team of health professionals to oversee the distribution of these resources. The team will also train Korean health staff how to use the equipment in crisis conditions.
This winter the Consortium, including CARE, will focus on feeding children in the 6-17 age group -- a group neglected by the general WFP program of aid to nursery-age children. Most families are forced to stretch one child's ration to cover the food needs of an entire family. The Consortium will seek to ensure that at least one nutritious meal per day goes to the child by recommending a program of mid-day meals for all beneficiaries, with an additional take-home ration for older children. The Consortium recommends such a program for 1.5 million school-age children in four provinces of North Korea, using a total of approximately 120,000 MT of food commodities.
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