Goto main content

North Korea

Humanity & Inclusion has been working in this country for the past 19 years. Its goals are to support the inclusion of children with disabilities in education, provide access to rehabilitation and orthopaedic fitting services, and promote the rights of people with disabilities.

Fitting an artificial limb, North Korea - Humanity & Inclusion

Fitting an artificial limb, North Korea - Humanity & Inclusion | © Myriam Abord / HI

Actions in process

Although the country is politically isolated, Humanity & Inclusion has been working in North Korea since 1998. Today, the organisation runs projects in Pyongyang and six provinces. Its spheres of action are to ensure children with disabilities have access to education, to improve rehabilitation services, to support the inclusion of people with disabilities in society and to reduce the risk of natural disasters while taking into account people with disabilities.
Humanity & Inclusion’s work in the country began when the Korean Federation for the Protection of the Disabled requested help in developing its operations. The goal was to improve the aid provided to people with disabilities in a country that has long been isolated. Today, the organisation continues to support this federation in its efforts to provide quality services to disabled people and build an effective network, campaigning for the recognition of disability rights. In 2003, Humanity & Inclusion supported the adoption of the Law on Protection of Disabled People.
Furthermore, in order to enhance disabled children’s access to education, Humanity & Inclusion helps improve the living conditions of children with visual impairments in Humhung Blind School.
In order to improve rehabilitation services, it also offers direct support to a number of orthopaedic fitting centres, hospitals and clinics. The aid provided varies according to the need: it may involve renovating premises, training physiotherapists and orthopaedic technicians or supplying equipment and consumables. In addition, the organisation of mobile camps has made it possible to extend provision of rehabilitation services to remote regions.
Lastly, Humanity & Inclusion aims at ensuring people with disabilities are taken into account in natural disaster risk reduction activities, particularly by providing training and raising the awareness of the relevant authorities (SCEDM – State commission on the management of emergencies and disasters). The organisation has also implemented a project in a school to make students aware of the risk from natural disasters. Disaster risk education activities are implemented in five communities and three schools in the provinces of North Hwanghae and South Hamgyong.

Areas of intervention

Help them
concretely

Situation of the country

An isolated country with a highly vulnerable population.

At the end of the Korean War in 1953, the Korean peninsula was divided into two states: the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea).
Since the significant support provided by countries in Eastern Europe came to an end, the country has been even more isolated and the everyday lives of the North Korean population are in crisis, both from a social and a health perspective. A shortage of medicines, energy supplies and a chronic lack of infrastructure make this one of the poorest countries in Asia.
Number of Humanity & Inclusion staff members in North Korea: 10 (and four staff members based in Beijing also working for the China programme).

Where your
support
helps