Malaria infections in N. Korea halve in 2019: WHO

SEOUL, Dec. 1 (Yonhap) -- The number of malaria infections in North Korea nearly halved in 2019 from a year earlier, a U.N. agency's report showed Tuesday, as global aid organizations have worked to help with the impoverished country's fight against the contagious disease.

According to the report by the World Health Organization (WHO), North Korea reported a total of 1,869 malaria cases last year, compared with 3,698 tallied a year earlier.

The North had reported over 10,000 malaria cases annually from 2008-2014, but the number began sharply falling from 2017, when the figure came to 4,575.

The report did not provide reasons for the decline, but international assistance for the North's fight against malaria and other contagious diseases appears to be paying off, observers said.

In July, the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) received a sanctions waiver for its plan to send around US$750,000 worth of medical equipment needed to treat patients suffering from malaria and tuberculosis in North Korea.

kokobj@yna.co.kr
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