You may have seen on the news today that the European Commission is giving food aid in North Korea.
It was not an easy decision. In a country that is almost entirely sealed off from the outside world we wanted to answer two important questions: first, is this a real humanitarian crisis? And if we were to give food aid, would it really reach the people who need it?
To answer these questions, I sent a team of humanitarian experts to North Korea in June. Their visits to the capital and the countryside, to food warehouses and markets, hospitals and food distribution centres, kindergartens and orphanages confirmed beyond any doubt that hunger is hitting hard, especially the most vulnerable people. Food shortage is a chronic problem in North Korea, but this year is particularly bad: floods destroyed last year’s harvest and a very harsh winter badly affected the spring crops. On top of that, North Korea suffered a foot and mouth disease epidemics, so animals had to be killed, meaning less milk, less meat and less stock for the future.
As a result, food rations were cut to 150 grams, a handful of corn per person per day. This means that in some areas people have so little to eat that they even eat grass. Malnutrition is particularly horrible for young children – if it doesn’t kill them it would damage permanently their mental and physical development.
So yes, our aid was needed. But before we could give it I wanted to be absolutely sure that it would reach the 650,000 North Koreans whom our experts identified as the most vulnerable (children under five, pregnant and breast-feeding women, the sick and the old). We have done everything possible to check and control the course of our aid: from the North Korean ports where it will be imported, to the plates of the people we want to help. The monitoring will be done by the World Food Programme which will manage the aid on the ground and whose experts will perform over 400 checks per month inside the areas where our assistance will be distributed. Of course, if we see any attempt to divert the aid, we will turn off the tap.
I was asked today why we are helping North Korea if it will not help its own people. I wished we didn’t need to – but the wrongdoing of the regime is no excuse for us to close our eyes and hearts to the suffering of people whose only fault is to be born there.
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Tags: children, Humanitarian Aid, hunger, North Korea, nutrition
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The amount reported in the media ough to cover entire population of NK for 10 days, assuming cheapest grain, barley, and cost-efficient delivery and distribution.
A breakdown what the part of the money goes to cereals, oil, vitamins, transportation would be welcome!
What worries me is the fact that last time around EU suspended aid because of concerns that it was diverted to military. As NK government controls distribution of produce in the country it is clear that distribution of aid can be be used for political aims, such as playing one region against the other or buying loyalty of one segment of society (military); in the end a tool to keep people you are trying to help in check.
So what is different this time around? Are spot checks allowed? Unsupervised visits? Is WFP personnel free to travel outside the capital? Free to travel without government minders?
Dima Q, you are asking the right question: how can we be sure that food gets to those who most need it? I sent 5 experts from my team to North Korea to help me answer it. They reported that they were allowed much better access than in the past — they traveled to three provinces and visited farms and families, hospitals and kindegardens, all selected by my team. Also, the WFP has negotiated unprecedented monitoring arrangements — they will have 59 international staffers and conduct some 400 visits a month, following the food from ports to warehouses and end beneficiaries, randomly choosing locations. I intend to follow up very closely whether the North Koreans respect these arrangements, and will not hesitate to stop the delivery of food aid if at any point access is denied or aid is diverted.
Северна Корея е държава с еднопартийно управление. Аз искрено се надявам, хуманитарната помощ да достигне до нуждаещите се, а няма да бъде разпределена между партийни величия и техни приближени. Вярвам, че контролът и мониторингът при разпределение на помощта ще бъде силен и ще се следи за злоупотреби.
За мен е много важно, че обикновените севернокорейци, получавайки тази помощ ще знаят, че не са сами в нещастията си и не са забравене от целия свят. А връщането на вярата и оказаната подкрепа в трудни моменти, за мен е равносилна на хуманитарна и морална помощ.
Аз подкрепям Вашата инициатива и вярвам, че светът може да се превърне в добро място за живеене за всички, стига да има воля
Хората там действително имат огромна нужда от подкрепа — и физическа, и морална. Мога да Ви уверя, че ще следим много внимателно как се разпределя помощта ни: от това зависят човешки животи и възможността ни да помагаме в бъдеще.
Да вземат да вдигнат щатското ембарго над страната, пък те корейците ще се оправят и сами.
STOP THE US EMBARGO!
Ich finde es nicht in Ordnung einem solchen Schurkenstaat zu helfen. Es wäre ja ein leichtes für Nordkorea seine Bevölkerung durch Kapitualition des kommunistischen Regimes zu retten.
STOP THE US EMBARGO !! How stupid. The embargo is against the corrupted Communist regime. If it gets stopped it will benefits the gun traders and North Korean regime will get access to technologies which will allow them to increase their military power but IT WILL NOT HELP THE PEOPLE.
What EU does is a humanitarian aid without involvement. However if North Koreans start uprising against the regime the EU should un-anonymously support it. If needed with military power.