Action by Churches Together (ACT)
Appeal
DPRK Relief & Rehabilitation:  ASKP-21
Appeal Target: US$ 1,030,000
Balance Requested from ACT Network:  US$ 994,000
Geneva, 12 March 2002


The past year has seen dramatic improvements in DPR Korea's relations with
South Korea and the wider international community. Their impact on the
current economic malaise, however, remains to be seen. In the meantime,
the country is still in the grip of a continuing complex emergency.

Given the inflexible position of the DPR Korea government, many donors
questioned from the very beginning the utility of providing aid to a
country that seemed determined to prevent exactly those social, political
and economic changes which would restore it to health. As the aid
community tries to shift from food aid to development aid, questions about
structural change become more acute.

NGOs have been exposed to rich and varied experiences in their interaction
with the DPR Korea. Some have given up in frustration, accepting the
argument that the collapse of the regime is the best hope of deliverance
for the people. Others, including ACT, have taken a longer view, believing
that a transformation of the system offers fewer risks and greater
benefits for the people.

Like most NGOs ,who decided to continue to work in the DPR Korea despite
serious limitations on their operations, ACT remains committed to finding
a way to alleviate the plight of the people and will emphasise
relationship-building over the long term, seeking to connect with what
many believe may be a civil society in embryo. ACT feels that the time is
ripe for a transition from relief towards longer term rehabilitation and
is already experimenting with slowly changing its approach to accommodate
this transition. By the end of this year this approach will again be
reviewed.

The focus of concern for international NGOs active in DPR Korea remains on
the plight of children in residential homes (orphanages and baby homes)
who are mostly without parents and are suffering severe malnutrition.
Special attention is focussed on the agricultural sector that has suffered
an enormous decline in the past years, resulting in serious food deficits
for a population dependant on agriculture.

Through its members Diakonie Emergency Aid as the lead co-ordinating
agency for ACT humanitarian response to DPRK and Church World Service/CWS
as the Co-ordinating agency for administration of The Food Aid Liaison
Unit/FALU, ACT seeks to raise funds for the following sectors of
humanitarian response:

Health/Medical Care: Provision of pharmaceutical raw materials for local
production

Agriculture: Provision of plastic sheeting and raw material for
greenhouses along with training and exposure programs

Relief: Provision of nutritional inputs and non-food items to the
vulnerable in emergency situations



Project Completion Date:
31 December 2002

Summary of Appeal Targets, Pledges/Contributions Received and Balance
Requested
                                           US$
Total Appeal Target(s)                  1,030,000
Less: Pledges/Contr. Recd.                 36,000
Balance Requested from ACT Network        994,000


Ms. Genevieve Jacques		Thor-Arne Prois		Robert Granke
Director			Director, ACT		Director
WCC/Cluster on Relations				LWF/World Service



REQUESTING ACT MEMBERS

ACT/Diakonie Emergency Aid (DEA):  Co-ordinating Agency for Act Response
in DPRK.

ACT/Church World Service-USA: Co-ordinating Agency for administration of
the Food Aid Liaison Unit (FALU)



ACT CO-ORDINATING AGENCY INFORMATION

As in 1997-2001, ACT member Diakonie Emergency Aid (DEA)  the Humanitarian
Aid Department of Diakonisches Werk (DW) Germany, is prepared to be the
ACT Co-ordinating Agency for ACT response and appeal projects in the DPRK
in the year 2002.

Within the given limits and circumstances beyond their control and/or
influence DEA will help ensure co-ordination and facilitation of the ACT
emergency response, as well as ensure that the critical tasks of
assessment, relationships, procurement, transport, financial control,
monitoring and reporting are carried out.

ACT member Church World Service (CWS) administers and facilitates the ACT
network support and partnership in the NGO Food Aid Liaison Unit (FALU)
within the WFP office located in Pyongyang, the capital.



INFORMATION on IMPLEMENTING MECHANISMS & PARTNERS

The Flood Damage Rehabilitation Committee (FDRC):  - this is a DPRK
government office and is responsible for the planning and co-ordination of
all external humanitarian aid in North Korea.  The FDRC works in
conjunction with the FALU office of the WFP and with other UN agencies
such as UNICEF, FAO and UNDP.

The Agreement between the Government of the Democratic People's Republic
of Korea, Action by Churches Together and the United Nations World Food
Programme outlines provisions and obligations that govern the donation of
commodities by the Non Governmental Agency "Action by Churches Together"
(ACT) through the Food Aid Liaison Unit (FALU) of the United Nations World
Food Programme (WFP).


World Food Program/Food Aid Liaison Unit (WFP/FALU):  In order to ensure
effective co-ordination of food and other material aid inputs from
non-governmental organisations (NGOs), WFP proposed the establishment of
the Food Aid Liaison Unit (FALU) in the WFP Pyongyang office. ACT
facilitated the establishment of FALU in December 1996 in co-operation
with other NGOs. The FALU office and staff represent the interests of NGOs
who are donating food and non-food relief for the DPRK crisis.

The NGO members of the FALU agreement with WFP, include ACT, Caritas, the
Canadian Food Grains Bank, Mercy Corps International, ADRA and World
Vision.

The operational costs of the FALU, including salaries, benefits, travel,
housing, office operations and other required support are jointly funded
by the NGO members of the FALU agreement.

UNICEF/ACT-DW POH (Project Officer Health), MALU (Medical Aid Liaison
Unit):  Since 1998 assistance in the field of medical aid has been carried
out through temporary technical consultancy in co-operation with - DIFAM,
German Institute on Medical Mission, while WFP/MALU has been entrusted
with the facilitation and follow up.

For 2002, Diakonie will maintain the technical consultancy of DIFÄM on
temporary assignments as deemed necessary. To ensure effective
co-ordination of the medical aid from the ACT network, Terms of Reference
have been worked out and agreed upon by Diakonie and UNICEF. The Programme
Officer Health (POH) will have day to day responsibility for supporting
implementation, including monitoring of the emergency project entitled
"Essential Drugs " as well as the regular health program.


The POH will mainly:

Manage the rehabilitation of local drug production with ACT/Diakonie's
material and financial support

Provide, validate and/or revise estimates of the resources required for
national level support for integrated health care for children and women

Assist the MoPH to better assess national requirements and determine
UNICEF/ACT- Diakonie support for essential drugs, with respect to
available stock consumption, utilisation data forecast of needs and the
sources of supplies

Monitor distribution of supplies sent by ACT/Diakonie

Provide progress reports on project activities to ACT/Diakonie

Liaise with counterparts and other international aid agencies including
WHO and FALU



The major part of the operational costs for the POH (salary, benefits,
travel, housing, office operation and other) are being funded through
DEA's contribution to the ACT Appeal.

The Korean Christian Federation (KCF) represents the Protestant churches
in North Korea and is the equivalent of a National Christian Council. KCF
joined the DPRK government appeal in 1995 and requested humanitarian
assistance and support from ACT. Since then, ACT has worked co-operatively
and in co-ordination with KCF, building on the long term relations already
established through KCF's work with the World Council of Churches and
utilising KCF's capacity whenever possible for the facilitation and
provision of humanitarian relief.



DESCRIPTION of the EMERGENCY SITUATION in DPRK

Background of ACT Response in the DPRK

The inability of the DPRK economic system to cope with natural disasters,
changing trade relations with former allies - Soviet Union/Russia and
China and the burden of military spending have led to deprivation amongst
almost the entire population.

The ACT emergency response in DPRK began following the devastating floods
which occurred during July and August of 1995. These floods, considered
the worst natural disaster in the history of DPRK, caused extensive damage
to most of the Korean Peninsula as crops were washed away, 500,000 people
were forced from their homes, and the lives of 5.2 million people were
devastated. The government of the DPRK appealed for outside assistance
from other countries, relief agencies and churches. The 1995 floods were
followed by three years of additional natural disasters and continuing
economic decline.

The years 1998 and 1999 saw improvements in the harvest, which in turn
enabled some recovery in livestock numbers, particularly goats, pigs,
ducks and rabbits. The harvest for 2000 was however worse than at any time
during the initial crisis. In addition storms at the end of August 2000
caused loss of life, widespread devastation to homes and infrastructure,
as well as destruction of standing crops. Their effect was far worse than
the damage inflicted by typhoons Neil and Olga the year before.

Situation and needs as described in the Executive Summary of the North
Pacific Policy Papers No 7 (Erich Weingärtner, independent consultant on
international and humanitarian affairs, specialising in the DPRK)

"When non-governmental organizations (NGOs) began operating in the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the fall of 1997, they
found a society without parallel in the modern world. Although practically
every sector of the DPRK economy was in profound crisis, the social and
political structures of the country were in fact under firm and
disciplined control.

Given the inflexible position of the DPRK government, many donors
questioned from the very beginning the utility of providing aid to a
country that seemed determined to prevent exactly those social, political
and economic changes which would restore it to health.

As the aid community tries to shift from food aid to development aid,
questions about structural change become more acute. Seen from the
view-point of today's global economy, the DPRK regime's resistance to
change is at the heart of the problem. Food aid may still be tolerated
because it saves lives. Development aid, on the other hand, risks
strengthening the very regime blamed for causing the crisis in the first
place.

NGOs have been exposed to rich and varied experiences in their interaction
with the DPRK. Some have given up in frustration, accepting the argument
that the collapse of the regime is the best hope of deliverance for the
people. Others have taken a longer view, believing that a transformation
of the system offers fewer risks and greater benefits for the people. In
particular, Canadian NGOs have a century-long history in Korea, and have
been among the most active in supplying humanitarian assistance.

Despite serious limitations on their operations, most NGOs who have
elected to continue to work in the DPRK emphasize relationship-building
over the long term, seeking to connect with what many believe may be a
civil society in embryo. DPRK authorities have undergone an intensive
learning process over the past five years, gathering from the behaviour of
NGOs many insights into how the rest of the world operates.

The time is ripe for a transition to providing development programmes in
the DPRK, and despite extremely limited funding, many NGOs are already
experimenting with projects that straddle this transition. To be
effective, however, NGOs have to accomplish two contradictory tasks.
First, in order to convince sceptical donors to release greater resources
for development in the DPRK, they have to prove that structural change is
possible. Second, in order to convince sceptical DPRK authorities to
improve working parameters, they have to prove that the implementation of
development projects will not cause structural changes.

The way to do both is to find common denominators between donor goals and
DPRK goals. It means understanding development from the vantage point of
DPRK authorities and using this understanding as a basis for building
project priorities that will satisfy donor expectations. In essence, it is
the humanitarian assistance equivalent of confidence building.

Policy consequences arising from this analysis include the gradual
insertion of development goals into ongoing humanitarian aid supply,
initiation of discussions with DPRK officials on their development
priorities, agreement on long-term plans that include division of labour,
time-frames, progress indicators and an emphasis on capacity building, and
promotion of co-ordination among donors to parallel the co-ordination
which already exists among NGOs."

ACT has responded to the massive humanitarian needs of the North Korean
people during the past 6 years through the provision of food, seeds,
fertilisers, agricultural inputs, medicines, medical raw materials and
non-food items. This critical humanitarian assistance has been
accomplished through effective relations with DPRK authorities and
implementation through FALU (secondment to WFP) and the Korean Christian
Federation (KCF).


GOAL & OBJECTIVES

Goal: To assist in increasing local food production and to help improve
the local production of drugs - both in quantity and quality.  To help
restore self-reliance through appropriate humanitarian assistance and
gradual insertion of rehabilitation.


Objectives:

For the past years, ACT has provided food and non-food items to various
target groups and geographical areas focussing on three sectors

Food Aid - cereals, pulses, oil, sugar plus Fortified High-Energy/Protein
food for pregnant/lactating women and weaning food for children

Medical Aid - supply of medicines, medical utensils and devices plus
supply of pharmaceutical raw materials and technical expertise to help
revive the local production of medicines / pharmaceutical factory
Pyongyang

Agriculture inputs - Seeds, fertiliser, pesticides plus provision of
plastic sheeting and LDP raw material for greenhouses as well as training
and exposure programs both in-country and outside. Provision of inputs for
increased potato production


These sectors will not change in 2002, however, whenever possible the
assistance will be geared towards building up self reliance. Food aid will
only be considered, in case of severe shortages, i.e. in the form of an
emergency contingency. The provision of agricultural inputs will be
continued. Although these inputs have not yet brought about a greater food
security, they are still considered to be a better form of "Food Aid".
Medical Aid in 2002 will concentrate further on the rehabilitation of the
pharmaceutical factory in Pyongyang.


Beneficiaries:

Beneficiaries, belonging to the most vulnerable sections of the
population, are identified through the UN offices of WFP/FALU, FAO, UNICEF
and UNDP, or the Korean Christian Federation, working in conjunction with
the DPRK government Flood Damage Rehabilitation Committee (FDRC) and other
authorities.



DESCRIPTION of ASSISTANCE & IMPLEMENTATION

ACT has provided food and non-food items to various target groups and
geographical areas since 1996. The strength of ACT is its flexibility to
respond swiftly to emerging food gaps and other special needs which is
possible through the close co-operation with FALU and WFP.


Food Production - Agricultural Inputs

Provision of seeds, fertiliser and/or plastic sheeting and raw materials
for manufacture of plastic sheeting for greenhouses, protection of
seedlings and seed propagation

Continue to assist with in-country training/exposure as well as sponsor
Korean agricultural experts and farmers to gain exposure to agricultural
developments - both in science and on the farm level - in institutions
outside DPRK, in China and elsewhere

Secondment of an agricultural specialist for a (first) assessment / data
collection gathering; time-frame: two weeks



In order to better streamline agricultural inputs / inputs in food
production, ACT plans to second an agricultural specialist for a period of
two weeks.  During this period he will try to assess the situation and
gather respective data and information on, e.g.

already existing programmes / who is engaged in this field

what was/is the reason for the success (or failure - as with the Sepo
Potato Project*) of the programme - obstacles, hindrances, problems

specific needs

co-ordination of programmes by whom / with whom

collaboration with local authorities / Ministries, etc




The survey will hopefully come to solid conclusions from which
recommendations can be drawn.

* Note on Potato Project in Sepo County, Kangwon Province.

This project was included in the 2001 ACT Appeal.  ACT-member CWS-USA, as
part of the US-based Private Voluntary Organization Consortium (PVOC)
was involved as an implementing partner in the project in close
collaboration with the Kangwon provincial authorities, the Ministry of
Agriculture and the Academy of Agricultural Sciences (AAS). The project
was intended as a follow up to a similar PVOC potato project in 1999 and
aimed at a short-term objective of increasing production of seed potatoes
for Sepo County and surrounding areas and, a longer- term objective of
establishing a sustainable, technically strong and financially viable
seeds potato production centre in Sepo County to meet the seed needs of
the south-eastern region.

For various reasons (which cannot be "nailed down" easily), the project
never came into being. Nevertheless, it is exactly the kind of project the
country and its population needs so badly.



Health/Medical

Provision of pharmaceutical raw materials (and
equipment/machinery/devices, if deemed necessary)  for local production.

Continuation of training programmes / extension courses for staff in order
to help improve manufacturing practices (GMP); particular attention is
being paid to issues such as quality assurance, procurement of raw
materials, warehousing and utilisation of essential drugs in the public
sector.

Maintaining the expertise and technical guidance of the DIFÄM (German
Institute for Medical Mission)



Support to the local production of drugs from imported raw materials,
started in late 1997. A second round of production in 1999, resulted in
200 million tablets of essential drugs being produced at Pyongyang
Pharmaceutical Factory; in January 2002, production reached 500 Million
tablets.  The project enjoys the support of WHO and UNICEF.  Towards the
end of last year, UNICEF integrated the distribution of locally produced
tablets in the hospital support programme.



Emergency Contingency

The strength of ACT is its flexibility and the ability to take risks for
innovative measures whenever appropriate and to quickly respond to the
most critical needs in the DPRK to help alleviate human suffering.
Therefore, for 2002 an emergency contingency is being considered as well,
to provide, when needed:

essential medicines or critical medical supplies in accordance with
established needs.

warm clothing, blankets and other basic needs as established.

supplementary food (sugar, pulses, oil) and nutritional inputs/therapeutic
feeding needs as established and if required.



Note: The WFP Cereal pipeline should be sufficient until July 2002
following the recent Republic Of Korea (South Korea) donation of 100.000
MTs of maize. This is contingent on the maize shipments beginning to
arrive in DPRK from the end February and the confirmed EU and US grain
shipments phased over the following four months. Despite this
contribution, there may be a short break for some beneficiaries in early
March. In contrast, the pipeline for sugar is about to break. Production
of enriched blended food, which is designed for the youngest children,
will cease in mid-March unless additional sugar shipments are received.
This will leave vulnerable children at risk from the consequences of a
poor diet consisting mainly of cereals.

Source:  UN-OCHA DPRK: Situation Bulletin, January 2002, No 01/02




IMPLEMENTATION METHODOLOGY

Management, Administration, Financial Control and Co-ordination

ACT-Diakonie Emergency Aid Germany: ACT-DEA is the 'Co-ordinating Agency'
for all ACT appeal assistance in the DPRK. Within the given limits and
circumstances beyond their control and/or influence DEA's responsibilities
include:

Co-ordination of all aspects of ACT response in DPRK in conjunction with
the ACT Co-ordinating Office but excluding in-kind donations and relief
shipments from ACT members which will have to be arranged for and
facilitated by the sending agency.  The sending agency will also ensure
full communication to the ACT Co-ordinating Office, Geneva, for
co-ordinating purposes.

Maintaining relations with DPRK authorities, KCF, WFP, UN agencies and
other NGOs.

Arrangements for the procurement and transport of ACT relief commodities
and materials to the DPRK utilising appeal cash donations forwarded to
ACT-DEA.

All ACT appeal financial expenditures, controls and reporting.

Assist in the monitoring of ACT appeal assistance consigned through
WFP/FALU

Reporting and communications regarding ACT assistance in the DPRK



ACT-Church World Service (CWS) USA: Administers and facilitates the ACT
network support and partnership in the NGO Food Aid Liaison Unit (FALU)
within WFP office located in Pyongyang.

Administration of WFP/FALU International Officer positions.

Communications and administration with WFP offices.

Representing and facilitating the FALU meetings of all participating NGOs


World Food Program/Food Aid Liaison Office (WFP/FALU): This office
facilitates and co-ordinates the food and non-food inputs of ACT and other
NGOs.  The FALU International Officer is directly responsible for
monitoring the ACT inputs channelled through WFP, FDRC and PDS. Regular
reports, updates and relevant communications are provided by the FALU
Officers to ACT and other NGOs.  The FALU International Officers also
assist with hosting various ACT delegations to DPRK and work
co-operatively with KCF.


Korean Christian Federation (KCF): KCF represents the Protestant churches
in the DPRK and has relations with many WCC member churches. The
co-ordination, provision and monitoring of ACT assistance is provided
primarily through the established structures of FDRC, WFP/FALU.

ACT member donations consigned solely to KCF must continue to be arranged
and facilitated by the sending agency. ACT will continue to involve KCF
whenever possible and if deemed necessary in the provision of ACT
assistance.  However, it should be noted that some limitations exist
regarding direct communications, relationships and facilitation between
ACT and KCF. During the past years, KCF has also been extremely helpful in
hosting delegations and working with various ACT members.




Monitoring

ACT Appeal assistance will be monitored through the following mechanisms:

WFP/FALU: One International Officer & 2 National Officers are supported by
23 International WFP monitors operating from Pyongyang and 5 Sub-Offices.
There is provision of monitoring and reporting directly to ACT.

Every shipment will be followed by a monitoring report from FALU
Pyongyang, detailing the agreement, arrival, distribution, use and impact
as well as resulting recommendations.

UNICEF/ACT-DEA POH: Monitoring and reporting ACT-DEA medical aid
programmes.

Visits by ACT Members / Delegations / Co-ordinating Office to the DPRK:
Travel reports concerning aspects of the ACT assistance will be shared
with the network as available.


Before the end of this year an ACT meeting is planned to review the
assistance as well as its focus and approach, to allow for making
decisions regarding continuation of the assistance and to be able to
respond to any significant changes within the country.



BUDGET

INCOME			US$
Diakonie Emergency Aid  (80 MT white sugar)	36,000
TOTAL INCOME		36,000


				US$
Food Production		300,000
Agricultural inputs
Survey on Food/Agricultural Programmes
In- and external training/exposure /extension programmes
Agricultural Programme Support


Health/Medical		450,000
Pharmaceutical raw material
Essential drugs and critical medical equipment
Training programme / extension courses for technical and
policy staff involved in the production of essential drugs
Technical expertise, guidance and process accompaniment (DIFAM)

 Emergency Contingency (as deemed necessary and appropriate)	150,000
Critical medical supplies
Basic needs
Supplementary Food 1)

SUB-TOTAL		900,000


FALU - ACT contribution 2002 						50,000
UNICEF - ACT/DEA POH contribution 2002		80,000

TOTAL EXPENDITURE		USD   1,030,000

Less Income		36,000
Balance Requested from ACT Network		994,000


Notes

1: In response to the shortfall of Sugar necessary for the production of
enriched blended food, DEA has dispatched a shipment of 80 MT sugar,
valuing appr. USD 36,000

2: DEA will charge 3% administrative costs for cash contributions by other
ACT members.



- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Action by Churches Together (ACT) is a worldwide alliance of churches and
their related agencies, meeting human need through co-ordinated emergency
response.  The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of
Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


   Ecumenical Centre                          Phone: ++41-22-791.60.33
   150, route de Ferney                         Fax: ++41-22-791.65.06
   P.O. Box 2100                             E-Mail: act@wcc-coe.org
   1211 Geneva 2                              Telex: 415 730 OIK CH
   Switzerland                                 http://www.act-intl.org


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