The UN World Food Programme (WFP) today published a report on its website stating that North Korea’s strict self-imposed containment measures to prevent epidemics may force the WFP to suspend its aid operations in the country.
AFP reports that impoverished North Korea, which is under international sanctions for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, has long struggled to feed its people and suffers from food shortages and widespread malnutrition.
According to the World Food Program’s website, the WFP is the largest international agency engaged in aid operations in North Korea, providing specialized food to about 1 million pregnant women, nursing mothers and children each month.
North Korea’s self-imposed containment measures to prevent the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak are posing new challenges for aid efforts, the WFP said.
North Korea closed its borders last January after the first global outbreak in neighboring China, becoming the first country in the world to take the measure to protect the country from the threat of an outbreak.
In a report outlining its plans, the World Food Program noted, “Food imports, international staff movements and access to field surveillance (in North Korea) were restricted for an extended period of Time.”
The report also mentions that “WFP will strategically use the window that allows for food imports to replenish and improve (North Korea’s) domestic food stocks.”
“If food cannot be imported, there is a significant residual risk that operations will be suspended in 2021.”
Recent Comments