No subject

April 2009

   A 2008 survey by the WFP and the Food and Agricultural Organisation
(FAO) of 53 counties in eight provinces indicated that almost three
quarters of North Korean households had reduced their food intake. The
majority of families had stopped eating protein-rich foods and were
living on cereals and vegetables. Many people were forced to scavenge
for wild foods which are poor in nutrition and may cause digestive
problems. According to the WFP and FAO, one of the leading causes of
malnutrition among children under the age of five is diarrhoea caused
by increased consumption of wild foods.


   Despite the food shortages reaching critical levels, the government
has failed to seek international cooperation and assistance needed to
ensure minimum essential levels of food for the whole population. Due
to strained relations, North Korea in March 2009 refused to accept any
further food aid from the USA. The government also told five US
humanitarian aid organisations to leave North Korea by the end of
March 2009. Similarly in 2008, North Korea did not request assistance
from South Korea, the biggest donor of rice and fertilizer in previous
years.

Full: <http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA24/008/2009/en/4bb85801-1=
63f-4d4a-8127-30fea661b82a/asa240082009en.html>