North Korea's Train Victims Attract Funds, But Children Starve

SEOUL, South Korea, May 6, 2004 (ENS) - People from around the world have rushed to help victims of last month’s train explosion in North Korea, but that concern has not translated into funding for food needed by millions of other North Koreans, a senior United Nations official said today.

Donors have committed almost US$30 million for victims of the April 22 blast at Ryongchon near North Korea’s border with China. More than 170 people, including 76 children, died in the explosion caused by a train hitting a power line, and 1,300 were injured, of whom 370 were hospitalized. Nearly 8,000 people were left homeless.

Damage caused by the April 22 explosion in Ryongchon (Photo courtesy IFRC)

“But we must not forget the broader humanitarian crisis that continues to deprive so many more of a very basic diet, drinkable water and decent healthcare,” he said.

Banbury led a WFP mission that delivered the first international assistance to Ryongchon and 360 seriously wounded people at a hospital in the nearby city of Sinuiju on April 25.

Today he repeated his agency’s pledge to meet the food needs of all the survivors over the coming months.

“We are providing nutritious, easy to eat meals for hospital patients and their families, full rations to those without a roof over their heads, and will help rebuild the devastated township through food-for-work programs," Banbury said. "We will do so until next autumn’s harvest, and beyond if need be.”

Children from a primary school destroyed in the explosion at Ryongchon have been able to start classes again in a nearby secondary school, said UNICEF’s Representative in the country, Pierrette Vu Thi.

Still, that does not guarantee them enough to eat. UNICEF has provided therapeutic milk for children in a local kindergarten, but the agency cannot feed all the hungry children.

The World Food Programme has been able to raise only US$21 million so far this year for an emergency operation that seeks to feed 6.5 million of North Korea’s hungriest children, women and elderly people in 2004. WFP estimates US$171 million is needed to feed these vulnerable people.

Primary school students in class in a Ryongchon secondary school (Photo courtesy UNICEF)

In February, the agency nearly ran out of cereals, its staple commodity. Recent shipments, including 38,000 metric tons of maize (corn) from the United States, have afforded some relief, the agency said.

The impact of the explosion will be felt for months and, in some cases, years to come, officials from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent said last week as it launched a US$ 1.23 million emergency appeal that seeks to address the short-term and longer-term needs of up to 10,000 people for 12 months.

The Federation wants to replenish Red Cross relief stocks needed in the emergency phase, meet the household needs of homeless and destitute families for a period of four months, and provide long-term material and medical support for the seriously injured.

“The suffering and destitution we are witnessing is not something an emergency relief operation alone can deal with,” said Niels Juel, the Federation’s regional disaster management delegate. “Thousands of people have lost most or all of what they had and they were already struggling. They must be given a chance to recover and that requires sustained assistance.”

For now their most urgent needs are food, basic hygiene materials, kitchen equipment, clothing and fuel for cooking. The disruption of the water supply by the explosion must also be addressed, Juel said, and a Red Cross intervention has begun.

North Korean triplets sleeping at a government run home in Wonsan city, Kangwon province on April 2, 2004. (Photo courtesy WFP)

The downturn in food donations is eroding recent gains in nutritional standards. A survey by the government, UNICEF and WFP, conducted in late 2002, showed that four out of 10 North Korean children suffered from chronic malnutrition, or stunting, compared to six out of 10 in a 1998 assessment.

Urban residents outside the relatively privileged capital, Pyongyang are worst affected by the domestic shortfall. Even in Pyongyang people are heavily reliant on a Public Distribution System providing 300 grams of food a day – less than half a survival ration.

Interviews by WFP staff indicate that 70 percent of households dependent on the Public Distribution System are unable to cover their daily calorie requirements. Much of the population is afflicted by critical dietary deficiencies, consuming very little protein, fat and micronutrients.

WFP’s operating conditions in North Korea are a persistent concern, Banbury said. “Existing restrictions limit our ability to properly monitor distributions and measure needs. We’ve made progress, especially in the last year or so, but we have some way to go to reach international standards. We will continue to work with the Pyongyang government on this.”

Banbury, visiting Seoul to brief officials on his weeklong mission to North Korea in late April, said South Korea remains one of the largest suppliers of aid to the north through the World Food Programme.

“While the overall volume of assistance through us has declined significantly, the South Korean government has maintained its commitment at 100,000 tonnes annually in each of the past three years," he said. "We are deeply grateful for this crucial support.”