AIDS Control Strategy in DPRK

AIDS Control Strategy in DPRK

Marking the World AIDS Day, a reporter from the monthly Korea Today had an interview with Hwang Chol in charge of the State AIDS Examination Centre under the Ministry of Public Health.

Question: I think that AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), having posed a threat to mankind as leprosy in the 20th century, remains a grave menace in the new century as well.

Answer: So it is. AIDS is one of the calamities now sweeping over the world.

In 1981 the first AIDS-infected civilian came into being in the United States among menfolks blind with homosexual love. From that time right up to the year 2007 nearly 33 million people were seized with this fatal disease worldwide. Out of them more than 23 million people lost their lives.

An international AIDS conference held in Mexico in August this year gave warning against the present actual state of AIDS and its seriousness. In 2007 alone two million people or so died of AIDS worldwide, including Africa and Southeast Asia.

A global AIDS control strategy has already been mapped out and a series of measures have been taken, including the setting up of a department specializing in AIDS in the UN in 1995.

Q: How is AIDS prevention work under way in the DPRK?

A: In our country there is no AIDS-infected person yet.

But the grave situation worldwide pertaining to AIDS and particularly the ever-increasing number of AIDS-infected persons in neighbouring countries are making us direct deep attention to this issue.

In taking preventive measures against AIDS our country makes it a strategic principle to further strengthen the work of edification in all fields of social life for a sound cultural and moral way of life; to establish a nationwide effective system for the epidemiological observation of AIDS; and to conduct both prevention and control activities.

Basing ourselves upon this principle, we are carrying on the work for AIDS prevention and control in reliance upon a strategic information system.

The AIDS prevention department was set up at the Central Sanitation and Epidemic Prevention Centre in 1988 and an AIDS check-up department was formed in each provincial sanitation and epidemic prevention centre in 1989. This has resulted in the taking of AIDS check-up and prevention measures. Besides, the AIDS Research Department was organized at the Biology Institute under the Academy of Medical Science and research into AIDS is currently under way there.

Through the people’s hospitals at all levels and clinics as well as hygienic publicity halls and doctors in charge activities concerning AIDS and VD prevention are now being conducted for the inhabitants.

In addition, efforts were chanelled into affording a better understanding of AIDS among the inhabitants by relying on a well-organized hygienic publicity system ranging from the centre to the lowest units.

Greeting the World AIDS Day, hygienic posters were put on display and a publicity contest was held and lectures were given this year, too, as in the past.

Establishing an effective and reliable AIDS observation system is also important.

We have set up a system of work for grasping the actual conditions of AIDS observation in an orderly manner from the centre to the lowest units. In parallel with this, we are spending a great effort making all regions furnished with medical appliances necessary for AIDS check-up step by step, beginning with cities and counties situated in important places, including the border area.

Nor is this all. All blood transfusion organs and units are kept under close epidemiological surveillance and HIV check-up is under way in a thoroughgoing manner in order to prevent the spread of HIV through blood or articles of blood.

At the same time, we are closely cooperating with WHO (World Health Organization), UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) and the Red Cross (the International Red Cross Society) and are further strengthening the activities of the National AIDS Committee which represents all domains of related organs of society, with the main stress put on the domain of public health.

Taking into consideration the potential danger that AIDS may be brought in from abroad in future, we will make vigorous endeavours to bring to realization AIDS prevention and control strategy in order to cope with this.