AMNESTY WARNS OF HEALTHCARE CRISIS IN NORTH KOREA

15.07.2010 [15:36]
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Baku, July 15 (AZERTAC). North Korea is failing to provide the most basic healthcare needs for its people, Amnesty International warns.

An investigation by the human rights watchdog found barely functioning hospitals, poor hygiene and epidemics made worse by widespread malnutrition bbc REPORTS.

Many people were also too poor to pay for treatment, the report citing North Koreans and health workers said.

Pyongyang spends less than $1 (£0.65) per person on healthcare a year, World Health Organization figures show.

Amnesty`s report, The Crumbling State of Health Care in North Korea, is based on interviews with more than 40 North Koreans, who left the country between 2004 and 2009.

Health professionals who work with North Koreans were also consulted.

Pyongyang says it provides free healthcare for its people, but witnesses told Amnesty they had had to pay for all services for the past 20 years.

UN sanctions were tightened last year after Pyongyang`s nuclear and missile tests.

AMNESTY WARNS OF HEALTHCARE CRISIS IN NORTH KOREA

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