North Korea, known as the ‘hermit nation’ for its seclusion from the world, is a nation known for making substantial investments in its military and weapons but does little to support the basic needs of its people. Although little is known of this land, one thing that is clear is that the people that live within its borders are suffering. In the 1990’s North Korea experienced a severe famine, and it is thought that over one million people died from starvation.
Today, little has changed. In 2013 a team from the United Nation’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs issued a report stating that more than one quarter of all North Korean children are stunted from chronic malnutrition, and two-thirds of the country’s people don’t know where their next meal is coming from. The report also stated that supplies of medicine and equipment were inadequate to address these issues.
In an effort to help prevent children from dying from starvation, Planting Peace is working with our partners to provide deworming medication to 500,000 North Korean children. Planting Peace believes that by doing this we can curb extreme malnutrition rates and help prevent basic illnesses associated with malnutrition like blindness.
This will be the second time we have dewormed 500,000 children in North Korea. While so many in the world oppose the politics of the North Korean government, humanitarian aid should not be subject to the boundaries of political ideals. Where there is suffering, we must help.