Desiree Jongsma, the UN Resident Coordinator in North Korea, has warned that the well-being of citizens in the country is dependent on aid. Without aid, she said that the citizens’ health and food security would be seriously compromised.
The latest updates from the Resident Coordinator suggest an overall improvement in the humanitarian situation over the last year. However, Ms. Jongsma said that “the structural causes of people’s vulnerability persist.” She also said that imports of aid had staved off a humanitarian crisis.
The UN’s humanitarian assistance to the country is being bogged down by a lack of funding. Only 27.8% of the funding needed to support the programs for 2013 has been raised so far.
Source: UN News Centre
