, 7 March 2005 – Malnutrition rates among children in the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea have declined in the past two years but remain relatively
high, according to a new survey. UN agencies announcing the findings today said
that substantial, well-targeted international assistance must be sustained to
build on the gains.

The large-scale, random sample survey covered both child and maternal nutrition
and was carried out last October by the government’s Central Bureau of
Statistics and Institute of Child Nutrition, in collaboration with UNICEF and
the World Food Programme.

The survey assessed 4,800 children under six years of age and 2,109 mothers
with children under two across seven of the DPRK’s nine provinces and in the
capital, Pyongyang.

The two UN agencies said that although the new assessment is not strictly
comparable with the previous survey conducted in October 2002, positive trends
are apparent:

the proportion of young children chronically malnourished, or stunted (height-
for-age), has fallen from 42 percent to 37 percent; and


acute malnutrition, or wasting (weight-for-height), has declined from 9 percent
to 7 percent.

WFP and UNICEF attributed the improvements in part to the significant levels of
support provided by the international community in recent years.
“These results are encouraging, and show that the balanced rations and
fortified foods we provide to millions of the most vulnerable are helping,”
Richard Ragan, WFP Country Director for the DPRK, told a news conference in
Beijing.

While the proportion of children under six found to be underweight (weight-for-
age) increased from 21 percent to 23 percent, the rate among 1-2 year olds –
the most nutritionally vulnerable group – fell from 25 percent to 21 percent.

Childhood malnutrition rates varied significantly by region, with the highest
levels recorded in the more food-insecure northern provinces, and the lowest in
the relatively fertile and better-off south, especially Pyongyang.

WFP, which supports 6.5 million North Koreans, provides a full ration of
cereals and foods enriched with micronutrients by UNICEF to pregnant and
nursing women, nursery and kindergarten children. Primary school children are
given a daily supplement of fortified biscuits and school children in urban
areas receive a take-home cereal ration.

Some one-third of mothers were found to be malnourished and anaemic, which are
key factors contributing to child malnutrition. This is an area of concern, as
it indicates no progress over the past two years.

“The health and nutritional status of North Korean mothers inevitably
determines that of their children, and are crucial to breaking the vicious
cycle of impaired growth,” said Pierrette Vu Thi, UNICEF’s Representative in
the DPRK.

Child feeding practices are likewise important. While breast milk is the best
and safest food for infants, fully satisfying their nutritional needs for the
first six months, the survey found that only two-thirds of those up to that age
were exclusively breastfed. Less than one-third of infants in the 6-9 month age
group were given complementary foods, when all should have been, in accordance
with international standards.

One in five children surveyed suffered from diarrhoea during the two weeks
prior to data collection, and 12 percent had symptoms of acute respiratory
infection. The survey revealed a number of highly prevalent childhood diseases
that combine with malnutrition to put children’s lives at risk.

With the proportions of stunted and underweight children still “high” by
World Health Organisation criteria, and no improvement in the nutritional
status of mothers since the 2002 survey, much work remains to be done, UNICEF
and WFP said.

They urged continued international food and other assistance for the DPRK, and
pledged to expand targeted programmes in favour of specific vulnerable groups,
including young children and women of reproductive age.