North Korea
After sight-restoring surgery, a mother sees her son. Photo: Michael Amendolia
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has a backlog of over 40,000 people with cataract blindness.
Overview
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), also known as North Korea, shares a border with China to the north and a border with the Republic of Korea, also known as South Korea, to the south.
In recent years, international sanctions have been imposed against the DPRK in response to the government's program to develop nuclear weapons as well as other military actions.
Malnutrition is a major health issue for adults and children due to ongoing food shortages.
The Foundation has been working with Nepal's Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology (TIO) in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) since 2004.
In collaboration with DPRK government health authorities, we are helping to clear the huge backlog of cataract blindness in the country by holding intensive surgical workshops, and training and equipping local health professionals to carry out high volume cataract surgery.
Achievements: 2010
Through the TIO’s program work in the DPRK, The Foundation:
- supported an eight-day workshop in DPRK, screening 955 people and performing 747 sight saving cataract surgeries
- strengthened the high volume cataract skills of two surgeons and two senior eye care managers through training at Tilganga
- donated 2,200 intraocular lenses and an array of surgical equipment
About the program
Currently only 50 ophthalmologists in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) have the capacity to perform quality small incision cataract surgery, even though there are approximately 970 eye doctors and 660 eye nurses in the country.
Inadequate skills, systems and surgical equipment mean the country’s health system cannot deal with the high demand for cataract surgery.
Working through our partner the TIO, The Foundation has been collaborating with the DPRK Ministry of Public Health and selected national and provincial hospitals in the DPRK to address the growing problem of avoidable blindness.
Facts and figures
| Number of blind people | 89,900 |
| Main cause of blindness | cataract (approx 50%) |
| Prevalence of blindness | 1% |
| Backlog of cataract blindness | 44,900 |
| Population | 24 million |
| Urban population | 60.2% |
| Life expectancy | 67.7 years |
| Infant mortality rate (per 1,000 births) | 42 |
| Number of doctors (per 10,000 people) | 33 |
| Percentage of children (0-5years) underweight for age | 23% |
Sources: In the late 1990s, the World Health Organization reported these eye health statistics for DPR Korea, Health Situation in the South-East Asia Region 1994-1997, WHO SEARO, 1999, WHO, UNDP Human Development Report 2010, UNICEF State of the World's Children Report 2010
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