Seoul: North Korea saw a significant decline in humanitarian assistance from the international community last year amid prolonged border closures due to the coronavirus pandemic, new data revealed.
The financial tracking service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) revealed that assistance to Pyongyang from international organisations and other agencies in 2022 reached around $2.3 million, down sharply from $14 million the previous year, reports Yonhap News Agency.
Switzerland’s provision for the reclusive country last year through the Unicef and the Swiss Development Cooperation had accounted for 69.5 per cent of the total funding, or $1.6 million.
Sweden provided $513,927 to the North last year via the Swedish Red Cross, while the Norwegian Red Cross in Oslo contributed $199,601.
Data showed that several countries, including Canada, Finland, France and Germany, had offered contributions to the North in 2021 but did not provide any last year.
Switzerland will contribute another $1.2 million through Unicef this year for “essential nutrition services” in the impoverished country, according to the data as of January 4 shown on the OCHA website.
–IANS