UNICEF provides nine ambulances to nine counties in DPR Korea
Supporting hospitals across the country
UNICEF Office in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPR Korea) transferred nine ambulances equipped with spare parts to the Ministry of Public Health on 11 September 2019 for County Hospitals in nine convergence counties.
The ambulances are an essential part of the Maternal, Child Health and Newborn Care Programme that UNICEF is working closely with the Ministry of Public Health of the Government of DPR Korea.
Ambulances will be used for the referral of emergency obstetric and newborn care as well as non-obstetric emergency cases from the community to County and Provincial Hospitals which are equipped to manage with quality services in nine convergence counties.
In rural areas, 13 per cent of deliveries still take place in the home and not in health facilities, posing a risk for newborns and mothers according to the Multiple Indictor Cluster Surveys 2017. Also, while the probability of dying before their fifth birthday for children in DPR Korea has declined, the majority (3 out of 5) of remaining under-5 deaths are neonatal. The ambulances will help improve the survival chances of newborns, children and mothers.
The overall goal of UNICEF’s work in DPR Korea is to support the Government in enhancing self-sustaining national capacities so that all children in the country enjoy their rights.