Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-68ccn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-14T07:43:53.506Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Maintaining Health Sector Collaborations between United States Non-Governmental Organizations and North Korea through Innovation and Planning

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

Eugene S. Yim ,
Ricky Y. Choi  and
Michael J. VanRooyen
Eugene S. Yim*
Affiliation:
Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA Center for Family and Community Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Ricky Y. Choi
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA Department of Pediatrics, Asian Health Services, Oakland, California, USA
Michael J. VanRooyen
Affiliation:
Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA Department of Emergency Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
*
Harvard Humanitarian Initiative14 Story Street, 2nd FloorCambridge, Massachusetts 02138USA E-mail: eugene.yim@aya.yale.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Introduction:

Humanitarian agencies in North Korea operate within a complex sociopolitical environment historically characterized by a baseline of mistrust. As a result of operating within such a heated environment, health sector collaborations between such agencies and the North Korean government have followed unpredictable courses.

Problem:

The factors that have contributed to successful programmatic collaborations, as perceived by United States non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and North Korean officials were investigated.

Methods:

A qualitative, multi-case, comparative, research design using semistructured interviews was used. Expert North Korean informants were interviewed to generate a list of factors contributing to programmatic success, defined as fulfilling mutually established objectives through collaboration. The North Korean informants were asked to identify US NGOs that fulfill these criteria (“mission-compatible NGOs”). Representatives from all of the missioncompatible NGOs were interviewed. All informants provided their perspectives on the factors that contributed to successful programmatic collaborations. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed for thematic content.

Results:

North Korean informants identified six mission-compatible US NGOs. The North Korean and US NGO informants provided a number of factors that contributed to successful programs.These factors were grouped into the following themes: (1) responsiveness to North Korean requests; (2) resident status; (3) program monitoring; (4) sincerity (apolitical objectives); (5) information gathering; and (6) interagency collaboration.

Conclusions:

Some US NGOs have devised innovative measures to work within a unique set of parameters in North Korea. Both US NGOs and North Korean authorities have made significant concessions to maintain their programmatic partnerships. In this manner, seasoned collaborators have employed creative strategies and a form of health diplomacy to facilitate programmatic success in North Korea by building trust within a complex sociopolitical space.

Keywords

accesscollaborationDemocratic People's Republic of Koreahealth diplomacyhumanitarianhumanitarian diplomacyinformation gatheringinterviewnon-governmental organizationNorth Korea
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 24 , Issue 3 , June 2009 , pp. 153 - 160
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Cummings, B: The Origins of the Korean War, Vol. 1: Liberation and the Emergence of Separate Regimes, 1945–1947. 1st ed. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1981.Google Scholar
2.Choe, STKim, SHCho, HJ: Analysis of North Korea's foreign trade: 1970–2001.Multinational Business Review 2003;Spring.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3.Watts, J: Health-care divide widens in North Korea. Lancet 2003;362:2071–2072.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4.Noland, M: Famine and reform in North Korea. Asian Economic Papers 2004;3:10–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5.Woo-Cumings, M: The Political Ecology of Famine: The North Korean Catastrophe and its Lessons. 1st ed.Tokyo: Asian Development Bank Institute, 2002.Google Scholar
6. Médecins Sans Frontières: MSF calls on donors to review their policy in DPRK, Geneva. Available at http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/pr/release.cfm?id=460. Accessed 17 October 2008.Google Scholar
7.World Health Organization: Malaria Control in DPR Korea—Experiences on Primaquine Prophylaxis. In: SEARO's Malaria Report, Pyongyang. Available at http://www.searo.who.int/LinkFiles/Malaria_Dprk_Mal_Story.pdf. Accesssed 15 October 2008.Google Scholar
8.Yeom, JSRyu, SHOh, SLee, WJKim, TSKim, KHKim, YAAhn, SYCha, JE, Park, JW: Status of Plasmodium Vivax Malaria in the Republic of Korea during 2001–2003. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2005;73:604–608.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9.Li, SShen, CChoi, MHBae, YMYoon, HHong, ST: Status of intestinal helminthic infections of borderline residents in North Korea. Korean J Parasitology 2006;44:265–268.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10.Goe, LCLinton, JA: Community-based public health interventions in North Korea: One non-governmental organization's experience with tuberculosis and hepatitis B. Public Health 2005;119:347–352.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11.EugeneBell: Eugene Bell Foundation to refocus and expand services to North Korea in 2003. Available at http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/OCHA-64DDQ5?OpenDocument. Accessed 10 October 2008.Google Scholar
12.Flake, GSnyder, S: Paved with Good Intentions: The NGO Experience in North Korea. 1st ed. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2003.Google Scholar
13.United States Institute of Peace: Public health and conflict in North Korea. Available at http://www.usip.org/pubs/usipeace_briefings/2007/0306_north_korea.html. Accessed 08 June 2008.Google Scholar
14. Anonymous representative of North Korean Ministry of Health: Personal Interview by Choi RY. 23 July 2004.Google Scholar
15.Yim, ES: Understanding the North Korean Perspective: A Unique Role of Research in Improving Humanitarian Collaboration. In: Ramsay, S (ed). Young Voices in Research for Health 2007. Geneva: Global Forum for Health Research, 2007.Google Scholar
16.Hardy, CPhillips, NLawrence, TB: Resources, knowledge and influence: the organizational effects of interorganizational collaboration. Journal of Management Studies 2003;40:321–347.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
17.Wandwalo, EKapalata, NTarimo, ECorrigan, CBMorkve, O: Collaboration between the national tuberculosis programme and a non governmental organization in TB/HIV care at a district level: experience from Tanzania. Afr Health Sci 2004;4:109–114.Google Scholar
18.Brun, EHersh, J: Socialist Korea. 1st ed.New York: Monthly Review Press, 1976.Google Scholar
19.Kang, A: The lens of Juche: Understanding the Reality of North Korean policymakers. Review of International Affairs 2003;3:41–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
20.Smith, H: Hungry for Peace: International Security, Humanitarian Assistance, and Social Change in North Korea. 1st ed. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace Press, 2005.Google Scholar
21.Snyder, S: Lessons of the NGO Experience in North Korea. In: Flake, GSnyder, S (eds). Paved with Good Intentions: The NGO Experience in North Korea. 1st ed. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2003.Google Scholar
22.Lee, SW: International Engagement in North Korea's humanitarian crisis; The role of state and non-state actors. East Asia 2003;20:74–93.Google Scholar
23.Oknim, C: The role of South Korean's NGOs: The Political Context. In: Flake, GSnyder, S (eds). Paved with Good Intentions: The NGO Experience in North Korea. 1st ed. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2003.Google Scholar
24.The Sphere Project: Sphere: Humanitarian charter and minimum standards in disaster response. Geneva: Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response, 1998, p. 1–322.Google Scholar
25.Gostelow, L: The Sphere Project: The implications of making humanitarian principles and codes work. Disasters 1999;23:316–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
26.Salama, PBuzard, NSpiegal, P: Improving standards in international humanitarian response: the Sphere Project and beyond. JAMA 2001;286:531–532.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
27.Maxwell, S: The application of minimum standards during crisis. Field Exchange 2000;11:15–18.Google Scholar
28.Feffer, J: To Link or Not to Link: The Human Rights Question in North Korea. 1st ed. Silver City, NM: Foreign Policy in Focus, 2005.Google Scholar
29.Sooam, K: Human rights in North Korea: An international issue or a sovereign matter? East Asian Review 2002;14:21–36.Google Scholar
30.Anderson, M: Humanitarian NGOs in Conflict Intervention. In: Crocker, C et al. (eds). Managing Global Chaos. 1st ed. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace Press, 1996.Google Scholar
31.Flake, GL: The Experience of US NGOs in North Korea. In: Flake, GSnyder, S (eds). Paved with Good Intentions: The NGO Experience in North Korea. 1st ed. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2003.Google Scholar
32.Snyder, S: The NGO Experience in North Korea. In: Flake, GSnyder, S (eds). Paved with Good Intentions: The NGO Experience in North Korea. 1st ed. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2003.Google Scholar
33.Korean Buddhist Sharing Movement: The food crisis of North Korea, witnessed by 1,694 food refugees. Seoul. Available at http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/ACOS-64C4RL?OpenDocument. Accessed 15 October 2008.Google Scholar
34.Joy, CT: How Communists Negotiate. 1st ed. New York: Macmillan, 1955.Google Scholar
35.Sigal, LV: North Korea is no Iraq: Pyongyang's negotiating strategy. Arms Control Today 2002; December.Google Scholar
36.Snyder, S: Negotiating on the Edge: North Korean Negotiating Behavior. 1st ed. Washington, DC: US Institute of Peace Press, 1999.Google Scholar
37.OECD DAC: High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness. Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness: Ownership, Harmonisation, Alignment, Results, and Mutual Accountability. Paris. Available at http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/11/41/34428351.pdf. Accessed 15 October 2008.Google Scholar
38.OECD DAC: High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness. Accra Agenda for Action. Accra. Available at http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/58/16/41202012.pdf. Accessed 15 October 2008.Google Scholar
39.The Sphere Project: Change in the timing of the next revision process for the Sphere 2004 Handbook. Available at http://www.sphereproject.org/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=261. Accessed 13 December 2008.Google Scholar
40. The Sphere Project: Sphere Companion Standards. Available at http://www.sphereproject.org/content/view/358/268/lang,english/. Accessed 13 December 2008.Google Scholar