OCHA Situation Report
DPR Korea
Period: March 2003
12 April 2003


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

UNICEF LOOKS TO THE FUTURE

On March 10, Government and UNICEF held a joint country programme strategy
meeting covering the next period of co-operation in 2004 - 2006.
Representatives of UN Agencies and the IFRC attended the meeting. The
3-year programme envisages a continuation of humanitarian assistance
together with a more development-oriented cooperation in ten disadvantaged
counties. Immediately following the strategy meeting a briefing was
organised for representatives of resident donor embassies and
organisations. A draft country programme document has since been prepared
for review by the UNICEF Executive Board in June.


CONSOLIDATED APPEAL 2003 - UPDATE

Compiled on the basis of information provided by the respective appealing
agency to OCHA Headquarters, Geneva (correct as at 4 April 2003)

|--------------+--------------+-------------+--------------+---------|
| Appealing    |    Appeal    |    Total    |    Unmet     |    %    |
| Organisation | Requirements |  Resources/ | Requirements | Covered |
|              |              |   Pledges   |              |         |
|--------------+--------------+-------------+--------------+---------|
| CESVI        |      960,000 |     240,000 |      720,000 |  25.00% |
|--------------+--------------+-------------+--------------+---------|
| CONCERN      |      930,000 |     713,918 |      216,082 |  76.77% |
|--------------+--------------+-------------+--------------+---------|
| DWH/GAA      |      790,000 |     682,770 |      107,230 |  86.43% |
|--------------+--------------+-------------+--------------+---------|
| FAO          |    4,066,000 |     935,673 |    3,130,327 |  23.01% |
|--------------+--------------+-------------+--------------+---------|
| HI B         |      450,000 |           0 |      450,000 |   0.00% |
|--------------+--------------+-------------+--------------+---------|
| OCHA         |      577,980 |     233,918 |      281,177 |  45.41% |
|--------------+--------------+-------------+--------------+---------|
| PU           |    1,115,000 |     257,787 |      857,213 |  23.12% |
|--------------+--------------+-------------+--------------+---------|
| TGH          |    1,327,000 |     547,070 |      779,930 |  41.23% |
|--------------+--------------+-------------+--------------+---------|
| UNFPA        |      582,000 |           0 |      582,000 |   0.00% |
|--------------+--------------+-------------+--------------+---------|
| UNICEF       |   12,096,000 |   2,256,895 |    9,839,105 |  18.66% |
|--------------+--------------+-------------+--------------+---------|
| WFP          |  197,166,595 |  37,160,980 |  135,570,172 |  21.51% |
|--------------+--------------+-------------+--------------+---------|
| WHO          |        5,231 |   2,257,476 |    2,973,624 |  43.15% |
|--------------+--------------+-------------+--------------+---------|
| GRAND TOTAL  | $225,291,675 | $45,286,487 | $155,506,860 |  22.55% |
|--------------+--------------+-------------+--------------+---------|




Note: Table does not reflect recent US Government contribution of 40,000
mt (US$31.08 million) to WFP.



IFRC ASSISTS FIRE VICTIMS

An orphanage in Chongjin, North Hamgyong Province, was heavily damaged by
fire on 25 February 2003. On 5 March the Director of the Logistics
Department of the DPRK Red Cross Society visited the site and donated 200
blankets to the orphanage from the regional Red Cross Disaster
Preparedness warehouse. On 14 March, 31 families (136 persons) in Chongjin
City lost their homes and belongings to another fire. With the approval of
the Federation Delegation and the National Society headquarters, the Red
Cross chapter in North Hamgyong Province distributed the following items
to them from the Chongjin regional Disaster Preparedness warehouse on 18
March; 136 blankets, 31 cooking sets, 62 water containers and 31 plastic
sheets.


HEALTH AND NUTRITION

UNICEF

Expanded Programme on Immunisation: Immunisation services continued in all
provinces during the month. The first hepatitis B vaccine, funded from the
global fund GAVI, was received. Urgent strengthening of the vaccine cold
chain continued with training of staff of the ministry of public health
from all provinces.

Essential Medicines: Deliveries of vital medicines were made to four
provinces - Kangwon, Ryanggang, South Hamgyong and North Hamgyong. So far
in 2003 all provinces have received medicine deliveries on time although
under funding still only allows UNICEF to provide six vital medicines.

Capacity Building in Breastfeeding Practices. In early March UNICEF
organised training for a core team of breastfeeding practices trainers
from the Pyongyang Maternity Hospital. Six trainers were trained by an
external consultant from the Institute of Child health, London, together
with two Korean facilitators who had both attended a London course in
mid-2002. In turn the core team trained 24 participants from all
provinces. Improving breastfeeding practices has been identified as a
priority for UNICEF support.

In March UNICEF organised three nutrition briefings, in partnership with
WFP, for members of the humanitarian and diplomatic community on the
findings of the nutrition assessment and the latest international
information on breastfeeding.


CESVI - Support to Children's Institutions

The ECHO funded project, Support to Children's Institutions, is seeking to
assist 243 children's nurseries in Wonsan and Munchon cities, Kangwon
Province. The project is continuing despite the problems NGOs are
currently experiencing importing plastic windows and doors. As a result of
the problems the project has been extended until the end of April.

Under the project, 8252 mattresses and blankets were distributed to the
nurseries in December and January. 2180 more have been purchased and will
be distributed in the same nurseries, as well as the Paediatric hospital
in Wonsan.

To improve the hygiene condition in kitchens, bathrooms and washing rooms
in 12 selected nurseries, pipes for inlet and outlet, taps, ceramic tiles
and plastic water tanks have also been purchased and will soon be
installed.

IFRC

The main focus of the Red Cross Health departments in March was supporting
the Health Review Team which was conducting a biennial assessment of the
Health and Care Programme from March 8th to the 22nd . Three consultants
met with the Red Cross staff and various agencies in Pyongyang. They
toured facilities in the RC operational area over this two week period, to
assess the situation in the DPRK, and the added value of the RC operation
to mitigating the vulnerablity of the population. They appreciated their
time in DPRK very much, felt the review was well organised and that the
potential for proposed changes in country might be more achievable than in
the past.

One of their tasks was to make recommendations for the future of the
programme. The report is expected in April, but the key recommendations
discussed included:

   That IFRC support (including financial) for the DPRK H&C programme
   should be consolidated and possibly strengthened.

   The Programme should be developed to achieve more synchronie with
   international RC policies, including:

   Community level focus

   More national representation

   Health promotion by an increased number of national trainers developed
   for priority conditions to dovetail with MoPH activities.

   Drug distribution to be expanded at the community level, and phased out
   at secondary and tertiary levels.

   The management of the drug distribution to be transferred to the
   logistics department.

   Monitoring requirements to be reviewed with donors.

Upon receipt of the actual report, assessment of the feasibility of
implementing the final recommenations will be undertaken before acceptance
of the direction is determined.

The first of the year's Health Promotion workshops, on the topic of
Waterborne Diseases, was held the 12th and 13th of March. Materials for
the rest of the workshops on all topics are almost completely revised and
re-printed. The schedule for those workshops extends from March until
early October.

Other activities in March included the receipt on 6 March of currettage
sets to complete the safe delivery kits distributed in February. Six
hundred packs of First Aid materials were received on 15 March , one half
for distribution to First Aid posts, and one half for Disaster
Preparedness warehouses. At the end of March the 2nd quarter basic kits
arrived at Nampo. MoPH is currently evaluating the medicinal quality of
samples of the kit contents for approval for utilisation in DPRK. The
distribution of these supplies is in progress.


CESVI - Improving Water Quantity and Supply

Key Tender Awarded. As part of its ongoing water & sanitation programme
CESVI has declared the winner of the international open tender to purchase
drilling equipment. One drilling machine, one air compressor and one
service truck will be delivered in DPRK within the end of November 2003.
The provision of these brand new items in the country will facilitate the
exploitation of new sources of safe water. During the same time one local
team will receive training focussed on the proper use of all the machinery
and technique to drill deep water wells. The drilling operations will
start in the areas covered by the project. At the end of the project the
equipment will be used all over the country after it being donated to the
Government.

ECHO & SIDA Funded Projects Continue. The projects running in Kangwon
Province (Sida and Echo founded) are going on smoothly according to the
scheduled time of the operations. Materials for second phase
rehabilitation and substitution of the water supply system are being
delivered. After completion of all the works (laying down and joining
different pipes, installing fittings and taps) the beneficiaries will
receive access to drinkable water directly in their houses.

In addition, during the next field trip water tests will be performed
following two main objectives: check the water quality of the catchment
area recently rehabilitate within these projects and collect data to
perform a feasibility study for rehabilitation of new water sources within
the incoming projects.


UNICEF

In Kosan county (Kangwon province) and Kowon and Jongpyong counties (South
Hamgyong province) water and sanitation rehabilitation work continues
although under funding has slowed progress in Kosan and Kowon. Jongpyong
rehabilitation is ECHO funded and progress proceeds as planned.


IFRC Disaster Management Activities

A provincial Disaster Preparedness workshop was held on 12-13 March in
Kusong City, North Phyongan Province. Participants included 25 DP officers
from provincial cities and counties. The topics included the summing up of
2002 DP activities, summary of 2003 DP plan, the Federation's DP and
emergency response policies, main contents of DP and Disaster Response,
integration of Community Based First Aid, and Water and Sanitation.

National Society staff in the DPR Department visited 9 CBDP Ri's in
Dokchon, Sunchon and Yangdok of the South Phyongan several times to review
the work done and help the community DP committees work out annual plans.
They also checked their plan for mitigation work as well as the work done
already in this respect.


IFRC

IFRC's objective in the water and sanitation sector is to contribute for
sustainable improvements in the health and well-being of men, women and
children in 100 Ri' and Dong communities through the provision of clean
water, locally appropriate sanitation facilities and hygiene education. In
March the IFRC, in partnership with the National Society, undertook the
following activities:

   Purchase of additional waste pipe. March 10

   Distribution of waste pipe to the 10 villages from warehouse. March 10
   to March 25

   Workshop for maintenance of water supply system in 19 villages.

   Reinforcement of National Society water and sanitation unit by
   employing two more engineers

   Monitoring the construction of waste water collecting system in 10
   villages.


UNCEF - PLANS TO CONTINUE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE & STUDY TOURS

Ministry of City Management: water and sanitation rehabilitation planning
in North Hamgyong, Ryanggang - May to July.

Institute of Child Nutrition: further analysis of the 2002 Nutrition
Assessment results - May

UNICEF in-house: Emergency Preparedness and Response planning - April

Ministry of Public Health: 'Integrated Management of Child Illnesses' -
Overseas study visit to Vietnam in May.

Ministry of City Management: 'Arsenic Contamination in Water' - Overseas
study visit to China


FOOD AID - WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME

During March WFP DPRK operations received contributions totaling 156,870
mt and valued at USD52.42 million. These included: a cash contribution of
Euro 3 million from the Government of Germany for the purchase of about
15,000 mt of cereals, a Canadian contribution of 1,000 mt of canned fish
valued at USD1.75 million for the most vulnerable beneficiaries with
special nutritional needs (i.e. pregnant and nursing women and young
children), a USA contribution of 31,000 mt of wheat, CSB, rice, vegetable
oil and peas valued at USD13.76 million, a CARITAS contribution of 100 mt
of Dried Skimmed Milk (DSM) and 600 mt of sugar for the Local Food
Production valued at USD359,500, a USA contribution of 9,170 mt of DSM
valued at USD17.32 mt and a contribution from the Republic of Korea of
100,000 mt of maize valued at USD16 million

Cereal distributions to children in nurseries, kindergartens and to
pregnant and nursing women, suspended in some regions from late 2002,
resumed in the middle of March with the arrival of the ECHO shipment of
46,000 mt of wheat. With recent confirmed contributions, WFP food
distributions for all beneficiary groups will be met through April and for
some groups well into May. Cereal requirements are met into the fourth
quarter of the year for most beneficiary groups. In some areas pregnant
and nursing women and primary school children are not fully covered until
the beginning of June. The elderly and the caregivers will experience a
distribution gap during the month of May until the Republic Of Korea
cereals begin to be distributed from June.

Outstanding Needs. Additional pledges of approximately 140,000 mt are
required for the remainder of 2003, including 107,400 mt of cereals,
11,200 mt of CSM, 3,700 mt of sugar, 15,500 mt of pulses and 3,100 mt of
oil.

WFP Conducts WINGS training. During March WFP trained 20 of its staff in
WINGS, WFP's integrated Information Network & Global System. The training
covered Project Support, Finance, Travel, Logistics and Procurement
modules and was conducted by trainers from Headquarters and the Regional
Bureau in Bangkok.


WFP Monitoring and Access

All WFP sub-offices were operational in March.

Access Counties as at end March 2003

                          
|----------------+-----|
| Access         | 162 |
|----------------+-----|
| No Access      |  44 |
|----------------+-----|
| Total counties | 206 |
|----------------+-----|



Food for Work

The assessment of Food for Work (FFW) projects in 16 counties on the West
coast was completed and reviewed by the Project Review Committee (PRC).
The PRC approved 24 projects with a total food input of 6,000 mt. About 83
percent of the West coast projects are reforestation related. Preparation
to release 50 percent of the required food for the approved projects is
underway and non-food item distribution plans were finalized and
distribution of item has started.

In March, the remaining 11 long-term autumn FFW projects from 2002 were
monitored for completion, with all projects assessed as satisfactory. The
FFW unit completed its technical review with support from Mr Rezaul Karim,
technical consultant from WFP Bangladesh.


Local Food Production.

The total output for March 2003 was about 4,304 mt, with all 18 factories
operating during the month. The Rice Milk Blend factory ran out of rice
but will continue production with rice borrowed from the Government. The
pipeline for sugar and Dried Skimmed Milk (DSM) improved due to confirmed
contributions from the US and from CARITAS, with expected arrivals in June
and April-May respectively. Upon receipt of the DSM the factories will
resume the production of Cereal Milk Blend which was temporarily replaced
by Cereal Blend in Hamhung and Pyongyang. The factories received spare
parts ordered in December 2002 and started renovation and maintenance
activities.


FALU - FOOD AID LIAISON UNIT

CARITAS Hong Kong signed agreements with FDRC for the provision of 100 mt
of Dry Skimmed Milk and 600 mt of Sugar in support of WFP LFP factories.
Values of the two grants are respectively US$196,900 (for DSM) and,
US$162,600 (for Sugar). ETA in DPRK April 03.

Mennonite Central Committee, through Caritas Hong Kong, provided
approximately 13,095 new born bundles kits, 4,299 infant-sized and 1,186
adult comforters. Arrival in Pyongyang was on 28 March. The donation will
be distributed through ri-clinics and county or maternity hospitals in the
east coast provinces. The value of this grant is approx. US$ 420,000.
Implementing partners in DPRK are FDRC, UNICEF and WFP/FALU.


Possible Upcoming Donations from CARITAS

CARITAS is exploring with donors the possibility to provide 100 MT of
Canned Meat to 81,231 PNW (81 mt) and orphanages (Baby Homes, Children's
Centers, Boarding Schools (16 mt) in the North East Coast).

ACT/Diakonie, following the provision of 900,000 sqm of plastic sheets,
20,000 pcs of spades and hoes and 300 MT of NPK, as support to 7,554
households for their kitchen gardens in Mengsan county of South Pyongan,
has made available funds amounted at US$52,000 to be used for the
provision of seeds to the same target group. Monitoring activity of the
project at household level is revealing the importance of such support to
the families though co-operative farms are as well in need of similar
inputs.

Action by Churches Together (ACT) launched on 24 March an Appeal
requesting US$835,000 for humanitarian assistance in DPRK. This appeal
describes the continued response to vulnerable people of the DPRK by the
ACT Alliance, through its coordination agency Diakonie Emergency Aid (DEA)
which already secured US$300,000 of the appealed amount. Through the
already existing network of implementing partners ACT/DEA will support
Rehabilitation Programmes in the areas of agriculture


Visits from FALU NGOs Members

Ms Kathi Zellweger from CARITAS-Hong Kong visited the country from 11 to
18 March in preparation for launching the CARITAS Appeal for 2003. During
her stay she visited cooperative farms, LFP factoriesand VGF groups and
had meetings with the Government and representatives of the international
humanitarian community.


GERMAN AGRO ACTION - SUPPORT TO LOCAL FOOD PRODUCTION

German Agro Action has recently begun distribution of local produced
biscuits in North Pyong'an. After completing the rehabilitation of five
bakeries for the distribution of fortified biscuits in 2002, distribution
to 223 Primary Schools started in December 2002.

The project area covers 8 counties in North Pyong'an Province and will run
until September of this year, with a total production of 1.900 mt
delivered to 67,000 children between the ages of 6 and 11 years.

The local food production in South Hwanghae Province was a successful
project and ended in February 2003. The food supply of the 240,000
children assisted under this project was taken over by WFP.


ITALIAN DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION

The Development Cooperation Office of the Italian Ministry of Foreign
Affairs in Pyongyang actively carried out its humanitarian activities in
the Education, and Health and Nutrition sectors in March. The target area
for assistance was Kangwon Province.

As part of the second phase of the bilateral program in Kangwon Province,
the Italian Embassy in Beijing launched an International Tender, which
consisted of 5 Lots and 144 different Items. Of these lots, three were
awarded to two Korean Companies for Lot 3, 4, 5 (Heating Coal, Educational
Materials and Constructions Materials).

Great progress had been made so far in the implementation of this
bilateral program. The program provided 3,500mt of Heating Coal, 42 mt of
printing paper (total of 699,000 sheets) and 8,500 pieces of school bags.
Under the program a variety of construction materials were also provided.
These included: 1,540 mt of cement (30,800 bags of 50 kg), 1,800 square
meters of glass, 8,300 square meters of veneer (total of 2,800 sheets),
2,150 Cubic meters of timber (total of 10,939 trunks), 20 mt of iron bar
in 200 rolls, and 20 mt of iron spiral bar (total of 4,600 bars). All
items were delivered to Wonsan, Kangwon Province. The exercise was a
significant logistical effort involving over 533 truck loads, 45 rail
wagons, and hundred of workers.

The total value of the three lots was US$415,290. (Heating Coal US$92,800,
Educational Materials US$54,930 and Constructions Materials US$267,560).

The bilateral program is also providing support to the Ministry of Public
Health through the provision of essential drugs and surgical kits. These
inputs should arrive in April.

Agriculture. The Italian Government had made the contribution of
US$150,000 to UNDP for the procurement of the broad-spectrum pesticide
"Carbosulfan" for the control of the pest commonly known as Rice Water
Weevil. Approximately 34.5 mt of pesticide "Carbosulfan" will be provided.

Support through Building National Capacity. Health professionals from DPRK
have been selected for an eight month "International Health Management
Master Course" in Rome at ISS (Istituto Superiore di Sanita).


AGRICULTURE AND ENVIRONMENTAL REHABILITATION

CONCERN Integrated Pest Management Project

In DPR Korea cabbage is a particularly important food source during winter
as it is made into kimchi, a long lasting pickle. Given the harsh winter
climate and the limited amount of food, Kimchi is highly valued. Cabbage
production is facing extensive problems because of damage from
agricultural insect pests, particularly from the Diamondback Moth and
Small White Butterfly. CABI Bioscience reports that losses of up to 40%
can occur. (superscript: 1) 2002, SDC started an integrated pest
management activity (IPM), based on the use of specific natural enemies as
biological control agents for the selective control of cabbage insect
pests. This initial work by SDC has been positively received and continues
in 2003, along with a joint project by CONCERN funded by
OCHA.(superscript: 2) Further development of IPM would reduce the need for
chemical pest control in DPR Korea and thereby provide protection to the
local biodiversity of natural enemies. This would involve the introduction
and establishment of specific natural enemies to provide the basis for the
development and implementation of an effective IPM system. e CONCERN OCHA
funded project will assist in this aim by providing training to farmers in
the form of Farmer Field Schools (FFSs) and by supporting the Plant
Protection Institute of the Academy of Agricultural Science (Pyongyang) in
developing their own IPM programme.

"The Farmer Field School (FFS) approach was first developed in the late
1980s for training rice farmers in IPM. The success of this
discovery-learning approach based on the principles of adult education has
contributed to its popularity. The FFS approach is now being applied and
adapted in many regions of the world ... FFSs are seen as entry points
towards community strengthening and empowerment.(superscript: 3)"


CONCERN - Fodder And Fuel Wood Production

Preparations are underway for another exchange visit for tree nursery
staff who is involved in tree nursery management in South Pyongyan to
visit a suitable institution in Beijing. At the same time, Concern is
seeking a consultant who would be able to work with our counterparts in
the DPRK for a limited period.


CONCERN - Food Security Programme

Designs are being finalized for the hand carts and ox carts that will be
distributed to the four cooperative farms involved in this project, which
is beingimplemented in South Pyongan Province. Concern is waiting for the
delivery of hand tools and seeds for the project.


EDUCATION

UNICEF - Distribution of basic school materials and textbooks funded using
2002 contributions continues in readiness for the new school year which
begins in early April. So far this year no new funding has been received
for the UNICEF supported Education programme.

CESVI. The British Embassy in Pyongyang has also provided funding for the
distribution of educational material and toys for 243 nurseries through
CESVI. The wooden toys, that are now being purchased, have been selected
mainly because of their high quality and of their educational design.


WHO COUNTRY COOPERATION STRATEGY MISSION SUCCESSFULLY CONCLUDED

A three member mission comprising of two members from our Regional office
and one from HQ, Geneva arrived in Pyongyang on 18 March 2003. The purpose
of the mission was to up-date the country cooperation strategies for the
period 2004-2008 within the overall framework of the WHO corporate
strategy. Meetings were held with the Ministry of Public Health,
Development partners and Multilateral Agencies to up-date the country
strategy on the health priorities of DPR Korea for the period 2004-2008.
Prior to the arrival of the mission, a sensitization workshop with the
programme managers and other senior Government officials was held on 6
March. Briefing and interactive sessions with the Embassies and NGOs where
also held where WHO Representative to DPRK presented the current health
scenario and WHO's vision of the priorities in the area of health
development and future collaboration with the Government in DPRK. The
mission also visited some of the health facilities in and around Pyongyang
to have a first hand knowledge of the health facilities and infrastructure
available in the country. The mission expressed its great satisfaction on
their achievements and useful discussion with the Government Authorities
of DPRK and left Pyongyang on 25 March 2003.


(1) CABI Bioscience, is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to
provide information, training and research in the field of applied
biosciences. Currently they are working with SDC in DPRK.

(2) With the support of Sweden (SIDA) the OCHA Office in the DPRK manages
a NGO Funding Mechanism for resident NGOs.

(3) LEISA Magazine Vol 18, No. 3

The OCHA Office in DPRK produces this Bulletin on the basis of information
supplied by contributing organizations and public sources

Sweden is funding the OCHA Office in 2003



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