Source: IFRC
Date: 14 May 2004

In Brief
Appeal No. 01.67/03; Appeal target: CHF 13,370,909 (USD 9.2 m
or EUR 9.1 m); Appeal coverage: 100%.

This Annual Report reflects activities implemented over a one-
year period; they form part of, and are based on, longer-term,
multi-year planning All International Federation assistance
seeks to adhere to the Code of Conduct and is committed to the
Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response
in delivering assistance to the most vulnerable. For support to
or for further information concerning Federation programmes or
operations in this or other countries, please access the
Federation's website at http://www.ifrc.org

For further information specifically related to this Annual
Appeal please contact:

- Kim Sok Chol, Secretary General, Red Cross Society of the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea, phone + 850 2 381 8986,
fax +850 2 381 3490

- Per Gunnar Jenssen, Head of Delegation, ifrckp02@ifrc.org,
phone+850 2 381 4350, fax +850 2 381 3490

- Satoshi Sugai, Asia Pacific Department,
satoshi.sugai@ifrc.org phone+44 22 730 4273, fax +41 22 733
0395

Overall analysis of the programme

The implementation of Red Cross/Red Crescent programmes in the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in 2003 was marked
by consolidation and by the overcoming and working through of
delays. Good working relationships between the various
components of the movement who are supporting the DPRK Red
Cross were further improved; and the emergence of two
coordinated bilateral programmes are examples of how projects
implemented within a variety of Movement partnerships can
successfully coexist as long as there is strong coordination.

The humanitarian situation in large parts of DPRK did not
undergo any significant improvement. Large segments of the
population are still dependent on international food aid in
order to cover minimum nutritional needs. By the close of 2003,
there were only a few examples of increased government
investment in the provinces outside Pyongyang in the sectors of
health and care, water and sanitation, and basic infrastructure
such as power supply and transportation systems.

Some economic reforms continue to be implemented, although the
effects of these are still not clear. Analysts of the situation
have commented that the reforms could potentially create new
vulnerable groups. The identification of these groups continues
to pose a major challenge to the international aid community
due to restrictions on access to them. Standard and traditional
methods for conducting needs assessments cannot be applied in
DPRK, a fact that has to be accepted by the agencies operating
in the country. Discussions with regards to DPRK's unique
working environment, held between the International
Federation's Secretariat in Geneva and participating national
societies (PNS), have led to a renewed commitment to continue
to advocate for more conducive conditions that will allow
vulnerable groups better access to urgently needed humanitarian
assistance. Nevertheless there is documented evidence that the
operating conditions and the working relationships between the
DPRK Red Cross and the society's partners are steadily
improving, and that the majority of relief items reach
vulnerable groups. One of the main challenges facing the DPRK
Red Cross and the Federation over the coming years will be to
ensure that the achievements made over the past few years are
maintained.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) dominated East Asia's
and many parts of the world's consciousness in 2003. Even
though DPRK had no reported cases, the disease imposed
considerable constraints on programme implementation due to the
preventive measures taken by the government, which restricted
travel and movement of goods both between China and DPRK, as
well as within the country itself. During the months of May and
June, at the height of the SARS crisis, the Federation's
delegation staff were working at only 50 per cent of their
total capacity due to these restrictions, and all short-term
visits were abandoned. The East Asia partnership meeting was
postponed twice, and was conducted in the first week of March
2004.

The Federation's health and care programme was implemented
(with training delayed 1 -- 2 months), and basic medicine kits
for primary health care distributed. The first distribution of
medical kits to hospitals, originally scheduled for the spring,
was delayed by four months. The distribution of household
doctor kits, originally planned to take place in the autumn of
2003, took place during the first two months of 2004. The DPRK
component of an emergency appeal launched by the Federation in
response to SARS received good coverage. Activities initiated
by WHO, the DPRK Red Cross and the Federation were designed to
improve hospitals' capacity for preventing the spread of
infectious diseases. The project was implemented in cooperation
with the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), WHO and UNICEF.
Relief items were distributed to all counties. Training of
hospital staff in barrier nursing techniques was conducted in
all counties in the three provinces and one municipality
supported by the Federation, and the lessons learned from the
project are now being integrated into the health and care
programme.

Although funding of the Appeal reached 100 per cent coverage
(if one includes funds left over from 2002), delays in
receiving funding, particularly with regards to the water and
sanitation component of the health and care programme,
prevented the completion of activities according to schedule.
It was originally anticipated that funding would be sufficient
to complete water and sanitation projects in 40 villages;
however, as of the end of 2003, water and sanitation projects
were completed in only 10 villages. Funding for implementing
the projects in the remaining 30 villages was finally secured
at the end of 2003, and attempts to catch up with some of the
delays are now being made.

The DPRK Red Cross' disaster management programme entered the
second of a two year programming cycle, again strongly
supported by the British Red Cross Society and the UK
Department for International Development (DFID). No major
natural disasters occurred, and the main focus of the programme
in 2003 was the replenishing of disaster preparedness stocks
after the 2002 floods, increasing stocks, conducting training
and implementing the community-based disaster preparedness
(CBDP) project in nine ris.

For the first time, funding for the organisational development
programme exceeded the society's and the Federation's capacity
to implement activities. Availability of human resources at the
DPRK Red Cross headquarters was the primary setback to
achieving the programme's objectives. Attempts to strengthen
the branches were partially successful, but there were also
delays, mainly due to poor planning capacity at the branch
level. A more focussed approach and increased attention to this
programme from the DPRK leadership are important prerequisites
for making progress in the programme. An increased focus on
communications was supported both by the Federation's East Asia
Regional Delegation and the Danish Red Cross Society, and a
continued commitment from these partners has been promised over
the years to come.

The DPRK Red Cross has drafted a Strategic Development Plan
2010. The approval of the plan is expected at the society's
next General Assembly. It was not possible to convene the
assembly in 2003.

A tree planting programme, supported by the Red Cross Societies
of the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Norway, was officially
launched through a joint tree planting ceremony held at Mount
Kumgang in March. Ten Red Cross youth from both of the Korean
National Societies participated. This was the first jointly
held event for Red Cross youth from both parts of Korea since
the Korean War over fifty years ago. The programme further
includes support for rehabilitating five tree nurseries in
Kujang country and providing them with seeds and 300,000
seedlings.

The Netherlands Red Cross Society launched an organisational
development programme with the DPRK Red Cross which
concentrates on supporting two provincial branches in South
Hamgyong and North Hwanghae. These are provinces currently not
supported by the main Federation programmes and are seen as a
significant step towards providing greater support to all
segments of the DPRK Red Cross.

Bilateral cooperation between the ROK and DPRK Red Cross
continued with the main focus on providing support to families
separated by the Korean War, and the formation of an agreement
to build a permanent family reunion centre. Construction of the
centre commenced in 2003 and is ongoing. Some relief materials
were also received from the ROK. As in previous years,
governmental support for food and fertilizer was channelled
through the DPRK Red Cross.