More than 800,000 children and 120,000 pregnant women will be vaccinated in a nationwide campaign launched on Monday by the Government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) with the support of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
"This campaign is a major milestone in our drive to vaccinate every child in the DPRK and protect them from common childhood diseases," said UNICEF's Acting Representative for the country - more commonly known as North Korea - Roland Kupka.
"This is the first step in restoring routine immunization and closing the gap that has left children vulnerable to preventable diseases," he added.
Over four million doses of essential vaccines - including Pentavalent, Measles-Rubella (MR), Tetanus-Diphtheria, BCG, Hepatitis B, and Inactivated Poliovirus Vaccine (IPV) - were delivered to the DPRK in July to kickstart this comprehensive catch-up effort.
Of these, two million doses will be used in the current catch-up vaccination campaign, while the rest will be sent to health centres nationwide to boost routine immunization programs.
COVID-19 setback
The COVID-19 pandemic marked a major setback in immunization rates in DPRK.
While national rates exceeded 96 per cent before the pandemic, they dropped to below 42 per cent by mid-2021, leaving countless children at risk of deadly diseases such as polio, diphtheria, measles, rubella, and hepatitis.
Between 2021 and 2023, UNICEF supported three previous catch-up vaccination campaigns in the DPRK, reaching a combined total of nearly 1.3 million children who missed essential vaccinations during the pandemic's peak.
The current vaccination campaign is set to reach children and pregnant women in all 210 counties who missed out on life-saving vaccines since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020.
UNICEF campaign efforts
Over 7,200 health workers have been trained to manage vaccination campaigns and handle any potential vaccine reactions.
Additionally, UNICEF supplied new freezers, fridges, cold boxes, and temperature taggers to keep vaccines effective in even the most remote areas.
The agency is also supporting the campaign by overseeing vaccine delivery and administration and tracking coverage to ensure its success.
"To sustain progress in restoring pre-pandemic vaccination levels and ensuring every child receives essential, life-saving vaccines, we urge the DPRK government to swiftly allow the return of UNICEF and UN international staff in the country," remarked Mr. Kupka.
