Total population (in 000s)
a:
25 779
GDP per capita (in US$)
b:
NA Total deaths (2016)c: 223 000
Total NCD deaths
(NCD deaths as
% of total deaths)c:
186 100 (83%)
DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC (DPR) OF KOREA
National capacity for prevention and control of NCDs in SEA Region 2019: Country profiles
Off track1 Premature
mortality (probability of dying before the
age of 70, %) Tobacco use (%)
Heavy episodic drinkers
(%)
Physical inactivity
(%) Obesity
(%) Hypertension (%)
Per capita salt consumption
(g)
Population that use solid fuels as primary source for
cookingd (%) Incomplete data
On track2 Global targetsd (in terms of relative
percentage reduction) 25 30 10 10 Halt the
rise 25 30 50
(Regional goal only) Country targets
(in terms of relative
percentage reduction) 30 40* 10 50 Halt the
rise 25 30 Not set
Baselinee 27.3
(2010) 44.1*
(2013) 5.7
(2008) NA 4.4**
(2008) 18.7
(2008) 9.5
(2010) 94.0
(2010)
Current statusf 25.6
(2016) 46.1*
(2017) 3.8
(2016) NA 7.9**
(2016) 16.1***
(2016) NA 90.0
(2018)
National targets
(Absolute) (2025) 19.1 26.5* NA NA 4.4 14.0 6.7 47.0
* Smoking rate in males of 17+ years; **overweight, no obesity data published; ***in 2016, did not include people who were on medication
I. Public health infrastructure, partnerships and
multisectoral collaboration for NCDs and their risk factors
An exclusive organizational unit for NCDs Total number of staff
Yes 2–5 Multisectoral mechanism
(Year of establishment)
Operational (2014)
Chair of multisectoral mechanism Director, Department of Prevention and Treatment, MoPH
Dedicated funding for NCDs Yes (except palliative care) Earmarking of taxes from tobacco and
alcohol for health
Tobacco (None) Alcohol (None)
II. Plans, policies and strategies
Integrated multisectoral action plan
addressing all risk factors & diseases National Strategic Plan for Prevention and Control of NCDs (2014-2020)
Is the plan costed No
Operational tobacco control law/
regulation Law of the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea on Tobacco Control 2005 (as amended on 22 Dec 2009)
Operational alcohol control law/regulation
for comprehensive ban No response
Tobacco taxes as percentage of price of
20 most sold brand of cigarettes (2018)g Not applicable Affordability in 2018 of cigarettes – less
since 2008g Data not reported
Guidelines for physical activities with recommended level for children, adolescents and adults
No response
Implementation of national public awareness campaigns for physical activity
Yes
Availability of food-based dietary
guidelines No response
Front-of-pack labelling for packaged foods to indicate high level of sugar, salt, saturated fats or transfat
No
Salt control policy – on reformulation of
food Yes (Voluntary)h
Salt control policy – front-of-pack labelling No Implementation of public campaigns for
salt Yesh
m-health interventions for NCD risk
factors & NCDs No
III. Capacity for NCD early detection, treatment and care within the health system
Availability of evidence-based guidelines/protocols in primary care settings by public authorities for the management of
NCDs (Cardiovascular disease, diabetes cancer, chronic respiratory disease)
Yes (don’t know Chronic respiratory disease)
Alcohol dependence, tobacco dependence, overweight/
obesity & physical inactivity
Yes (for Tobacco and Alcohol dependence)
Availability of basic technologies in 50% or more health-care facilities in the public sector
Equipment for measurement of height and weight Yes
Blood glucose measurement No
Oral glucose tolerance test No
HbA1c test Don’t know
Dilated fundus examination Don’t know
Foot vibration perception by tuning fork Don’t know Urine strips for glucose and ketone measurement Don’t know
Blood pressure measurement Yes
Total cholesterol measurement No
Urine strips for albumin assay Don’t know
Peak flow measurement spirometry No
Availability of essential medicines for prevention and control of NCDs in primary care facilities
Anti-diabetic medication Metformin (Yes), sulphonylureas (No), insulin (No)
HPV vaccination No
Anti-hypertensive drugs Thiazide diuretics (Yes), ACE inhibitors (No), ARBs (No), calcium channel blockers (No), beta blockers (Yes) Cardiovascular disease drugs Aspirin 75/100 mg (Yes), statins (No) Chronic respiratory disease
drugs Bronchodilator (No), steroid inhaler
(Don’t know)
Oral morphine Don’t know
Benzathine penicillin injection No Nicotine replacement therapy Don’t know Screening for cervical cancer
(Program, Method, Coverage) Organized, VIA, ≥70%
Proportion of health facilities
offering CVD risk stratification 25%–50%
IV. Health information systems and surveillance
Exclusive dedicated staff/office/department/division Yes A functional system (either CRVS or SRS) that provide
national reliable estimates of mortality from main NCDs Yes (CRVS)
% of deaths registered in CRVS ≥ 75%
Time lag in availability of mortality data from CRVS/SRS
(latest year of data available) 2 year
(2017)
Risk factor data among adolescents (with latest year of data available):
An integrated risk factor survey within last 5 years Availability of at least two data points for most risk factors in last 10 years
None None Risk factor data among adults (with latest year of data available):
An integrated risk factor survey within last 5 years Availability of at least two data points for most risk factors in last 10 years
Yes (2016) No (2008, 2016) Time lag in publication of data from (with latest year of data available):
Most recent integrated risk factor survey Cancer registry
Diabetes registry
1 year (2016) 2 years (2017) 2 years (2017)
a. United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2019). World Population Prospects 2019, Online Edition.
b World Bank national accounts data (2019).
c WHO Global Health Estimates (2016) as downloaded from GHO (https://apps.who.int/gho/
data/node.searo.A860).
d The regional targets set in “Action plan for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases in South-East Asia, 2013–2020” are the same as the global targets set in 2013 in “Global NCD monitoring framework” for all indicators except for an additional regional target of “50% relative decrease in households using solid fuels as primary source for cooking between 2010 and 2025”. Though the indicator in the Regional plan and national plan refer to the percentage of “households” using solid fuel, data on the percentage of the “population”
using solid fuels is presented here. Country did not use this indicator or set a target for it in their national plan.
e,f Sources of data:
Premature mortality (Probability of dying before age 70): Both the baseline and current situation data are based on WHO Global Health Estimates (2016) as downloaded from GHO (https://apps. who.int/gho/data/node.searo.A857).
Tobacco use (Percentage of population using any tobacco product-smoked or smokeless):
Both the baseline and current situation data are from Global Adult Tobacco Surveys. Since the target was set only for tobacco smoking among men (17+), the results are presented for men (17+). No smoking is reported among women, and no use of smokeless tobacco is reported as it is banned in the country.
Heavy episodic drinking (alcohol): Both the baseline and current status data are from NCD STEP surveys conducted in 2008 among 25–64 years old and in 2016 among 18–69 years old. The data in 2008 is based on 5 or more drinks given among male drinkers for 25-64 years old. The data in 2016 is based on 5 or more drinks among 18-69 years. Hence the data are not strictly comparable for trend analysis and accordingly indicator is coded as “insufficient data”.
Physical inactivity (Percentage with <150 minutes of activity per week): Not available.
Obesity (BMI≥30 Kg/m2): Same data source as for heavy episodic drinking. In addition, Only data for overweight (>=25 kg/m2) was published in the reports. Since, the age groups in both surveys are different, therefore data are not strictly comparable.
Hypertension (Percentage with raised blood pressure (SBP≥140 and/or DBP≥90 mmHg) or currently on medication for raised blood pressure): Same data source as for heavy episodic drinking. In addition in 2016 survey, the published data for hypertension did not include people who may be normotensive but did not take medication. Hence the data are not strictly comparable for trend analysis and accordingly indicator is coded as “insufficient data”.
Per capita salt consumption: The baseline estimate was from Powles (2013) https://
bmjopen.bmj.com/content/bmjopen/3/12/e003733.full.pdf. No other nationwide estimates are available.
Percentage of population that use solid fuels as primary source of cooking: the data are from Global Household Energy Database, 2020 update. (https://apps.who. int/gho/data/
node.searo.SDGFUELS712). The percentage of households using solid fuels is estimated as (100 - percentage of population with primary reliance on clean fuels and technologies).
g WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic 2019. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/han dle/10665/326043/9789241516204-eng.pdf
h The country responded negatively to any policies for salt reduction.
NA Not available
1 Off track: Country may have made progress on the indicator, but the rate of progress made is not sufficient to achieve the 2025 target. As of the current year for which data are available, the country is behind by at least two years equivalent to the annual decline needed between 2010 and 2025 to achieve the target. The country needs to accelerate the rate of progress to achieve the 2025 target.
2 On track: The rate country has made sufficient progress between 2010 and the year for which data are available and are either ahead or less than 2 years offtrack to achieve the goal by 2025. If the country continues to make the progress at the same or slightly higher rate, it will be able to achieve the 2025 target.
For full report refer to https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/333806 For technical information, please contact: Dr Manju Rani, Regional Adviser (NCD Governance, Policy, and Surveillance), Email: [email protected]; Mr Naveen Agarwal, Surveillance Management Associate, Email: [email protected]
