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World Health Day Observed in DPRK

Korean Central News Agency of DPRK via Korea News Service (KNS)

    Pyongyang, April 8 (KCNA) -- A meeting for discussing issues related to the health of mothers and children was held at the People's Palace of Culture in Pyongyang on April 7, the World Health Day. The meeting fully showed that the mothers and children have enjoyed a good medicare system in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
    At the meeting, Vice-director of the Pyongyang Maternity Hospital Pak Song Suk said their health has been well protected under the free medicare system established by the DPRK government, and continued:
    More than 500,000 mothers die of pregnancy-related diseases and 10.6 million children, 40 percent of them being babies, lose their lives in the world every year.
    But in the DPRK, where the women have rights equal to men, women delivered of children enjoy special benefits.
    Besides regular and supplementary vacations they have a maternity leave at state expense. During the leave they receive food, stable living conditions and maternity allowance equivalent to their monthly wages irrespective of the length of service.
    The maternity hospitals in Pyongyang and provinces and the people's hospitals at all levels provide women with full medical service such as consultations on 22 occasions and delivery.
    Since the Pyongyang Maternity Hospital was opened, leader Kim Jong Il has sent to it more than 90 installments of modern medical equipment, medicines and tonics needed for babies and their mothers.
    Ri Hyon Ju, head of Kim Jong Suk Weekly Creche, spoke of the advantage of the socialist upbringing and education system of children established in the DPRK, saying that there are medical workers responsible for children's health at all nurseries, kindergartens and schools in all areas of the country including even remote mountainous and island villages.
    She added that there are children's wards at all hospitals ranging from state hospitals to the ri people's hospitals and a nutrition supply system including children's nutritive foodstuff institutes and factories.
    The government has paid a primary attention to providing children with food good for their growth.
    The participants in the meeting vowed to make the popular policies of the Workers' Party of Korea and the government further pay off and underscored the need to strengthen cooperation with the WHO in the efforts to finally solve the issue of mothers and children.