WASHINGTON, June 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Five aid agencies today
announced that they have signed an agreement with the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea to deliver U.S. government food assistance to North Koreans
suffering from severe food shortages. The partnership will distribute 100,000
metric tons of food to more than a half-million needy people over a
twelve-month period.
Mercy Corps is leading the program, with World Vision as co-lead, pending
final agreement. Partner agencies are Samaritan's Purse, Global Resource
Services and Christian Friends of Korea. Daily rations will be provided for
approximately 550,000 vulnerable people -- mostly children, the elderly and
pregnant and nursing women -- in two North Korean provinces. The program,
funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) office of
Food for Peace, is the first U.S. food assistance program for North Korea
since 2000.
"This is a breakthrough program: the first U.S. bilateral food assistance
to North Korea in eight years. As a needs-based program, it has enabled us to
have unprecedented monitoring provisions," explained Nancy Lindborg, president
of Mercy Corps.
"This will help many vulnerable people survive amidst North Korea's
chronic food shortages," said George Ward, senior vice president of
international programs for World Vision in the U.S. "The food needs in North
Korea right now are extreme and threaten to get worse without immediate
intervention. This assistance comes at a critical time."
The resumption of food assistance to North Korea follows recent United
Nations reports of a looming food crisis there. The World Food Programme (WFP)
and UNICEF reported in their latest large-scale survey that 37 percent of
young children are chronically malnourished, and one-third of mothers are
malnourished and anemic.
The situation has become dire in the past several months as floods
devastated harvests, China erected barriers to food exports, and global food
prices skyrocketed. A shortage of 1.66 million metric tons of food is
projected by the WFP, which also reports a doubling of prices for staples such
as rice and maize. The WFP will distribute another 400,000 metric tons of food
aid in this new USAID-funded program.
The partner organizations will begin addressing these challenges
immediately. "Each of the partner agencies has a decade or more of solid
experience successfully working inside North Korea," said Ken Isaacs, vice
president of programs and government relations at Samaritan's Purse. "We are
poised and ready to deliver food to those who most need it."
This new food assistance program includes clear provisions for monitoring
distributions and conducting ongoing needs assessments. According to the
program agreement 16 team members from the partner organizations will be based
for the duration of the program in Chagang and North Pyongan Provinces, as
well as in the capital of Pyongyang. They will be able to monitor the program
and randomly visit all points of distribution.
"We are thrilled to be working with a group of such effective and caring
partner organizations," said Jon Brause, director of USAID's office of policy,
programs and management. "We are confident that, with the monitoring
provisions we have in place, this assistance will help many people get the
food they need to lead healthy lives."
A team of nine experts from the partner organizations just returned from
nearly three weeks of conducting an assessment in North Korea. The team's
extensive interviews, observations and data review confirmed food shortages
and acute needs. Malnourishment was prevalent, rations have been severely
reduced in recent months, and in some places, food stocks are just weeks away
from completely running out.
"I have visited North Korea many times through the years, and I have
observed an extreme deterioration of the food situation in the past year. The
need has never been greater," commented Heidi Linton, executive director of
Christian Friends of Korea.
"This program is critical and urgent, particularly for children and
elderly, who too often are the victims of malnutrition, stunted growth and
slowed development," explained Rob Springs, CEO and President of Global
Resource Services.
About Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps works amid disasters, conflicts, chronic poverty and
instability to unleash the potential of people who can win against nearly
impossible odds. Since 1979, Mercy Corps has provided more than $1.5 billion
in assistance to people in 106 nations. For more information, visit
www.mercycorps.org
About World Vision
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working
with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full
potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. We serve all
people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender. For more
information, please visit www.worldvision.org
About Samaritan's Purse
Samaritan's Purse provides immediate, no-red-tape response to the physical
and spiritual needs of individuals in crisis situations-especially in
locations where few others are working. The organization is working in more
than 100 countries to provide aid to victims of war, disease, natural
disaster, poverty, famine and persecution. For more information, please visit
www.samaritanspurse.org
About Global Resource Services
Global Resource Services is dedicated to going beyond charity to find real
solutions to complex global crisis where peace and security are in jeopardy.
Our mission is driven by an end vision of reconciliation. Relationships,
respect and reconciliation are the common threads that empower our cause. For
more information, please visit, www.grsworld.org
About Christian Friends of Korea
Christian Friends of Korea (CFK) has been working since 1995 to bring hope
and healing to the people of North Korea. To date, CFK's efforts to build
trust and relationships and meet real human needs at tuberculosis and
healthcare facilities have resulted in the delivery of over $35 million USD in
humanitarian assistance to the DPRK. For more information, please visit
www.cfk.org
SOURCE Mercy Corps; World Vision
Joy Portella of Mercy Corps, +1-206-437-7885, jportella@sea.mercycorps.org; or
Geraldine Ryerson-Cruz of World Vision, +1-202-572-6302,
gryerson@worldvision.org
