- 6,000 children vaccinated against JE, Hib meningitis in Nampo, Sariwon
- Humanitarian project seeks to accelerate introduction of new vaccines for DPRK children

Dr. John Clemens, Director-General of the IVI, with
children at a daycare center in the city of Sariwon in the
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on February 29.

The IVI vaccinated 6,000 children in the Democratic People Republic of Korea (DPRK) against Japanese encephalitis (JE) and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) meningitis, in partnership with  DPRK authorities.

A team of IVI scientists visited the DPRK in February 2008 to conduct this pilot vaccination campaign,  involving the vaccination of  3,000 children in the city of Sariwon against JE and 3,000 children in Nampo against Hib. Both cities are near the capital, Pyongyang. IVI scientists visited Nampo again in April and May for second and third doses of the Hib vaccine.

The IVI team, led by its Director-General, Dr. John Clemens, visited clinics and public health centers in the two cities to oversee the immunization campaigns on February 29. They provided DPRK health professionals with advice and technical support, while monitoring the vaccination procedures and the overall DPRK project, which was launched in early 2007.

The IVI has been working with the Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS) of the DPRK to help DPRK public health authorities assess the feasibility of introducing these vaccines into their routine child vaccination programs. The pilot vaccination campaigns have been supported by the Ministry of Unification of the Republic of Korea. The vaccines were donated by Glovax Co. (Korea), Shantha Biotechnics (India), and GSK Vaccines (Belgium).

“The project has been very collaborative and has gone smoothly. We have met all the timelines, and it has been a model for joint cooperation,” Dr. Clemens said. “I found the sites where the kids have been vaccinated to be very well organized and run, with good recordkeeping systems.”

Over the past few years, the DPRK government has greatly improved its national routine immunization program with support from the international community, including the GAVI Alliance, the World Health Organization and UNICEF. However, it has not yet introduced routine vaccination against JE and Hib, which kill an estimated 400,000 people per year worldwide, primarily in developing countries.

The IVI began collaborating with the DRPK by sponsoring and organizing study tours for DPRK scientists in 2007. The study tours, which focused on the prevention and diagnosis of JE and Hib, took scientists from the AMS to leading public health and vaccine institutions in China and Vietnam in order to provide hands-on experience and training in laboratory diagnosis of these diseases and on the production of these vaccines. The IVI’s program also involves equipping AMS laboratories and training scientists in order to strengthen laboratory diagnosis of Hib and JE in the country, as well as conducting pilot vaccination campaigns against both diseases.

Dr. Clemens said, “As an international organization based in Seoul, the Republic of Korea, we sincerely hope that our humanitarian support for the DPRK will contribute to the welfare of DPRK children.”

Hib and JE
Bacterial and viral infections due to Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and Japanese encephalitis virus  kill an estimated 400,000 children globally each year. At present, the diseases caused by these pathogens are preventable with existing vaccines that are in use across the world, including in several developing countries.