Help with Food
The hospital “Pyongyang Baby home” also received goods at the Star of Hope relief in North Korea in 2003. Dr. Mun Chang Un showed us the products they received. We took off our shoes and put on white coats before we went in to the patient department.
Dr. Mun said the following about the hospital founded in 1980: It has 1,500 patient beds. 500 is for children, 1,000 are occupied by women. It is not only births to take care of there. It has also various gynecological departments, and about 15,000 women get through here every year. 50-60 children were born every day.
They have received technical assistance from China, India, Russia and Thailand. They have received lab equipment from Sweden.
They were very happy about the goods they got through Star of Hope, but they were still missing a lot. Their needs included vitamins and ultrasound machines. There was a great need for antibiotics - especially to the mothers who do cesarean which is a full 15% of all births.
Dr. Mun said that a full 12% of births are premature and that it was due to women's poor health. Dr. Mun showed us the premature children. They were very small!
I also found out that a seven years old kid in South Korea weight about 20 pounds more than a kid from North Korea on average. And the kids in South Korea is on avergare 8 inches taller than the North Korean kids. Big numbers.
