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Explosion in North Korea destroys health facilities
MEDICINE AND HEALTH POLICY
MEDICINE AND HEALTH POLICY
Explosion in North Korea destroys health facilities Rights were not granted to include this image in electronic media. Please refer to the printed journal.
AP
he International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has appealed for US$1·2 million over the next 12 months to help more than 10 000 people in North Korea’s Ryongchon town, where a massive explosion last week killed at least 161 people, nearly half of them children. “Thousands of people have lost most or all of what they had—and they were already struggling. They must be given a chance to recover, and that requires sustained assistance”, says Niels Juel, regional relief coordinator for the IFRC. He argues that funds are needed to provide food, clothing, medicine, and shelter to some 2000 families in Pyongchon, a sparsely populated area near country’s border with China. According to the Red Cross, the town’s water supply and electricity have been severely disrupted and 40% of building, including
T
Rescuers sift through rubble after an explosion at Ryongchon railway station, North Korea, destroyed surrounding buildings
many health facilities, have been completely or partially destroyed. The shortage of hospital space meant that 370 injured people have been moved to a hospital in Sinuiju City,
20 km from Ryongchon. But health facilities there are very basic, and not equipped to deal with such emergencies, warns John Sparrow, a Red Cross spokesperson. “Our impression is that
WHO uses Malaria Day to promote ACTs HO and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) issued rallying calls on April 25, Africa Malaria Day, for endemic countries to set aside fears over cost and embrace artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) to cut the annual death toll of more than one million. “Powerful new drugs can make the difference between life and death for the 300 million people afflicted by malaria every year,” said UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy. “If the private and public sectors work together effectively we can quickly reshape the marketplace for malaria drugs.” Although chloroquine has lost its effectiveness in many parts of Africa, it remains the most widely used antimalarial because of its low cost. A full-course treatment of the ACT Coartem currently costs around US$2·40 per person—around ten times more than chloroquine—and supplies are limited. WHO says that 15 African nations currently make use of ACTs in their antimalarial treatment programmes and
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more are expected to follow this year. This is likely to increase global demand from the current 20 million adult treatments to 130–220 million by the end of next year. Increased demand is the main factor that will drive down prices, says Fatoumata NafaTraore, Director of WHO’s Roll Back Malaria department, advising governments against further delay in switching to ACTs. WHO, which came in for criticism earlier this year for its continuation of programmes based on chloroquine, said much of the funding for the more expensive therapy would have to come from foreign donors. In a related announcement, the Medicine for Malaria Venture, a non-profit foundation, WHO, and GlaxoSmithKline agreed to develop a new fixed-dose ACT combining chlorproguanil, dapsone, and artesunate and make it available at preferential prices in endemic countries. The aim is to have the drug ready for regulatory submission by 2006.
many of those who received burns or facial injuries can’t be dealt with effectively at this time. Specialists in these areas should come forward and help these patients.” Years of economic sanctions against North Korea have kept health-care services in much of the country primitive. “There are no ambulance services outside capital. There are areas where doctors don’t even have stethoscopes”, says Sparrow. Moreover, malnutrition is widespread and life expectancy has declined significantly since the sanctions were put in place. Shelter is another immedite priority. According to IFRC, 1850 homes were levelled by the blast and 6350 were damaged. “Currently, a lot of homeless people have been housed by host homes in the area. But soon they would need shelter”, Marie-Françoise Borel of IFRC said. China and South Korea have offered North Korea $1·65 million and $1·36 million in aid, respectively.
Clare Kapp Khabir Ahmad
THE LANCET • Vol 363 • May 1, 2004 • www.thelancet.com
1447
MEDICINE AND HEALTH POLICY
Explosion in North Korea destroys health facilities Rights were not granted to include this image in electronic media. Please refer to the printed journal.
AP
he International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has appealed for US$1·2 million over the next 12 months to help more than 10 000 people in North Korea’s Ryongchon town, where a massive explosion last week killed at least 161 people, nearly half of them children. “Thousands of people have lost most or all of what they had—and they were already struggling. They must be given a chance to recover, and that requires sustained assistance”, says Niels Juel, regional relief coordinator for the IFRC. He argues that funds are needed to provide food, clothing, medicine, and shelter to some 2000 families in Pyongchon, a sparsely populated area near country’s border with China. According to the Red Cross, the town’s water supply and electricity have been severely disrupted and 40% of building, including
T
Rescuers sift through rubble after an explosion at Ryongchon railway station, North Korea, destroyed surrounding buildings
many health facilities, have been completely or partially destroyed. The shortage of hospital space meant that 370 injured people have been moved to a hospital in Sinuiju City,
20 km from Ryongchon. But health facilities there are very basic, and not equipped to deal with such emergencies, warns John Sparrow, a Red Cross spokesperson. “Our impression is that
WHO uses Malaria Day to promote ACTs HO and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) issued rallying calls on April 25, Africa Malaria Day, for endemic countries to set aside fears over cost and embrace artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) to cut the annual death toll of more than one million. “Powerful new drugs can make the difference between life and death for the 300 million people afflicted by malaria every year,” said UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy. “If the private and public sectors work together effectively we can quickly reshape the marketplace for malaria drugs.” Although chloroquine has lost its effectiveness in many parts of Africa, it remains the most widely used antimalarial because of its low cost. A full-course treatment of the ACT Coartem currently costs around US$2·40 per person—around ten times more than chloroquine—and supplies are limited. WHO says that 15 African nations currently make use of ACTs in their antimalarial treatment programmes and
W
more are expected to follow this year. This is likely to increase global demand from the current 20 million adult treatments to 130–220 million by the end of next year. Increased demand is the main factor that will drive down prices, says Fatoumata NafaTraore, Director of WHO’s Roll Back Malaria department, advising governments against further delay in switching to ACTs. WHO, which came in for criticism earlier this year for its continuation of programmes based on chloroquine, said much of the funding for the more expensive therapy would have to come from foreign donors. In a related announcement, the Medicine for Malaria Venture, a non-profit foundation, WHO, and GlaxoSmithKline agreed to develop a new fixed-dose ACT combining chlorproguanil, dapsone, and artesunate and make it available at preferential prices in endemic countries. The aim is to have the drug ready for regulatory submission by 2006.
many of those who received burns or facial injuries can’t be dealt with effectively at this time. Specialists in these areas should come forward and help these patients.” Years of economic sanctions against North Korea have kept health-care services in much of the country primitive. “There are no ambulance services outside capital. There are areas where doctors don’t even have stethoscopes”, says Sparrow. Moreover, malnutrition is widespread and life expectancy has declined significantly since the sanctions were put in place. Shelter is another immedite priority. According to IFRC, 1850 homes were levelled by the blast and 6350 were damaged. “Currently, a lot of homeless people have been housed by host homes in the area. But soon they would need shelter”, Marie-Françoise Borel of IFRC said. China and South Korea have offered North Korea $1·65 million and $1·36 million in aid, respectively.
Clare Kapp Khabir Ahmad
THE LANCET • Vol 363 • May 1, 2004 • www.thelancet.com
1447