Health and Medicine
Malnourished North Korean Children (http://asiancorrespondent.com/58290/more-reports-of-cannabalism-in-north-korea/)
Though the North Korean Government likes to boast of its free healthcare to all citizens, it is estimated that less than $1 is spent on a person's healthcare, according to Amnesty International. Many hospitals cannot even afford to pay their doctors, let alone provide adequate medical care. The majority of hospitals are unable to administer sterilized needles, food, clean water, and medicine. Even more alarming, doctors perform surgeries without using anesthesia.
Lack of proper health care has caused serious malnutrition throughout the country and has allowed diseases to spread. Five percent of the population suffers from Tuberculosis. Meanwhile, over forty five percent of children under the age of five are stunted in growth due to the lack of nutrition. This stunted growth has caused the North Korean Military to lower the minimum height requirement by two whole centimeters.
Because there is a huge lack of medicine, desperate citizens resort to using drugs, a common problem brewing within the decaying country. Amnesty International interviewed around forty people who escaped North Korea between 2004 and 2009. One teenage girl spoke openly about how people smoked opium and used morphine to ease hunger pains, headaches, and even the common cold.
Another escalating problem in North Korea is the lack of food. Many citizens will travel to hospitals in hopes of receiving a small portion of food if they or their child is sick. Many hospitals also lack food and do not provide meals for those who have to be hospitalized. North Koreans are forced to eat things such as corn husks, tree bark, weeds, and various other substitutions. There have also been reports of cannibalism in North Korea. However, there is not a lot of information on these reports as the North Korean Government is very strict with its media.
Malnourished North Korean Children (http://asiancorrespondent.com/58290/more-reports-of-cannabalism-in-north-korea/)
North Korea not only suffers from a poor economy, an overly-inflated military, and constant environmental disasters, but from a lack of basic healthcare as well.
Though the North Korean Government likes to boast of its free healthcare to all citizens, it is estimated that less than $1 is spent on a person's healthcare, according to Amnesty International. Many hospitals cannot even afford to pay their doctors, let alone provide adequate medical care. The majority of hospitals are unable to administer sterilized needles, food, clean water, and medicine. Even more alarming, doctors perform surgeries without using anesthesia.
Lack of proper health care has caused serious malnutrition throughout the country and has allowed diseases to spread. Five percent of the population suffers from Tuberculosis. Meanwhile, over forty five percent of children under the age of five are stunted in growth due to the lack of nutrition. This stunted growth has caused the North Korean Military to lower the minimum height requirement by two whole centimeters.
Because there is a huge lack of medicine, desperate citizens resort to using drugs, a common problem brewing within the decaying country. Amnesty International interviewed around forty people who escaped North Korea between 2004 and 2009. One teenage girl spoke openly about how people smoked opium and used morphine to ease hunger pains, headaches, and even the common cold.
Another escalating problem in North Korea is the lack of food. Many citizens will travel to hospitals in hopes of receiving a small portion of food if they or their child is sick. Many hospitals also lack food and do not provide meals for those who have to be hospitalized. North Koreans are forced to eat things such as corn husks, tree bark, weeds, and various other substitutions. There have also been reports of cannibalism in North Korea. However, there is not a lot of information on these reports as the North Korean Government is very strict with its media.
