More than 800,000 children and 120,000 pregnant women will be vaccinated in a nationwide campaign launched on Monday by the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) with UNICEF support.
The vaccination campaign will reach children and pregnant women in all 210 counties who have missed out on life-saving vaccines since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020.
“This campaign is a major milestone in our drive to vaccinate every child in the DPRK and protect them from common childhood diseases,” said UNICEF DPRK Acting Representative Roland Kupka. “This is the first step in restoring routine immunization and closing the gap that has left children vulnerable to preventable diseases.”
With support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, UNICEF assisted the Ministry of Public Health with the delivery of over four million doses of essential vaccines — including Pentavalent, Measles-Rubella (MR), Tetanus-Diphtheria, BCG, Hepatitis B, and Inactivated Poliovirus Vaccine (IPV) — to the DPRK in July to kickstart this comprehensive catch-up effort. Of these, two million doses will be used in the current catch-up vaccination campaign, while the rest will be sent to health centers nationwide to boost routine immunization programs.
National immunization rates in the DPRK exceeded 96 per cent before the COVID-19 pandemic but had dropped to below 42 per cent by mid-2021, leaving countless children at risk of deadly diseases such as polio, diphtheria, measles, rubella, and hepatitis.
UNICEF has supported three previous catch-up vaccination campaigns in the DPRK between 2021 and 2023, reaching a combined total of nearly 1.3 million children who missed essential vaccinations during the pandemic’s peak. Additional shipments are expected to reach the DPRK by the end of this year.
UNICEF also supplied new freezers, fridges, cold boxes, and temperature taggers to keep vaccines effective in even the most remote areas. Additionally, over 7,200 health workers were trained to manage vaccination campaigns and handle any potential vaccine reactions. UNICEF is also supporting the campaign by overseeing vaccine delivery and administration, and tracking coverage to ensure its success.
“To sustain progress in restoring pre-pandemic vaccination levels and ensuring every child receives essential, life-saving vaccines, we urge the DPRK government to swiftly allow the return of UNICEF and UN international staff in the country,” said Kupka.
