3.3 Support to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea through WHO

In August 2014, the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific and NHIS agreed and signed a memorandum of understanding to take more aggressive measures against smoking and enhance cooperation in the areas of universal health coverage including health care financing and health promotion including tobacco control (45). Since then, WHO is supporting international symposia on tobacco control and law organized by NHIS every year.

Effective from 1 January 2015, the Republic of Korea increased taxes and health promotion fund surcharges imposed on tobacco products by 2000 Korean won which resulted in an 80% increase of the final tobacco price. The Republic of Korea also revised The National Health Promotion Act in June 2015 which will require all tobacco products to display pictures on the harms of tobacco smoking effective from 23 December 2016. WHO recognized these accomplishments and awarded World No Tobacco Day 2016 awards to the Ministry of Health of Welfare (46).

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Q Who jointly organized an international symposium on tobacco control and law in august 2014 with the national health insurance services of the republic of Korea, the Korean association on smoking and health, and the Korean society for research on nicotine and Tobacco.

3.3 support to the democratic people’s republic of Korea through Who

3.3.1 Malaria

In the late 1990s, malaria re-emerged in the Republic of Korea, especially in areas near the border with Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Effective malaria control requires cooperation with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, which is a difficult proposition as the countries do not have diplomatic relations and direct support from the Republic of Korea is a sensitive issue in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. As a result, the Government of the Republic of Korea asked WHO to play a facilitating role. For six years from 2001 to 2006, KCDC provided WHO with voluntary contributions specified to support the malaria control programme in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The amount of support increased over time from US$ 530 000 in 2001 to US$ 619 000 in 2002, US$ 700 000 in 2003 and 2004 and US$ 877 000 in 2005. In 2006, material worth US$ 1 136 410 was sent to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea by WHO.

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Q public health officials from the republic of Korea and the democratic people’s republic of Korea met and discussed malaria control issues in the Korean peninsula at a biregional meeting convened by Who in 2004.

The material included anti-malarial drugs for treatment and chemoprophylaxis, mosquito nets, and diagnostic and educational materials for the public health workers. WHO also organized annual consultations on malaria and invited public health officials both from the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. With support and coordination from WHO, interventions on both sides of the border helped control this vector-borne communicable disease (47).

3.3.2 Women’s and Children’s Health

In the 1990s, the collapse of socialist economies, compounded by numerous natural disasters, seriously impacted the economic and health situations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The liberal administration of the Republic of Korea under the Sunshine Policy offered support to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea via multiple channels, including indirect support through the United Nations system. In March 2006, the Government of the Republic of Korea and WHO launched a five-year joint project – Improving Women’s and Children’s Health in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (IWCH). The IWCH project was a full-scale initiative driven by the Government based on a systematic review of the needs and priorities of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. It included nutrition, disease management, and child and maternal care, and was successfully carried out between 2006 and 2009. However, the project was discontinued in 2009 due to changes in the political situation between the two Koreas. Since 2014, the Government of the Republic of Korea and WHO have tried to relaunch the project (47).

a rchives of Korea n ational ©

Q gro harlem brundtland, Who director-general (left), meets Kim dae-jung, president of the republic of Korea (right), in 2001, following the opening of the Who office in the democratic people's republic of Korea. her visit resulted in health aid from the republic of Korea to the democratic people's republic of Korea through Who.