North Korea’s Hunger Crisis: UNICEF Worried Over Severe Malnutrition Rates

The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has expressed concern over severe food shortages in North Korea.

According to VOA, UNICEF made this statement in its recently released 2023 East Asia and Pacific Region Humanitarian Situation report.

It also stated that “the government’s restrictive measures and border closures have impacted UNICEF’s capacity to monitor the situation and respond effectively to needs.”

UNICEF explained that “between January and June of last year, more than 4% of children screened in some treatment facilities showed symptoms of severe or moderate acute malnutrition, which is a higher rate than before 2020.”

In addition, North Korea’s Ministry of Health reported that “only one in five children treated for diarrhea received oral rehydration salts” and pointed out that “this increases the risk to child survival considering the high rate of malnutrition.”

UNICEF and other UN agencies and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) withdrew from North Korea after the country closed its borders in January 2020 for COVID-19 prevention.