North Korean clinics lack medicine and the knowledge to treat malnutrition and childhood illnesses on a nationwide level, UNICEF stated in its end-of-year humanitarian report, citing North Korean staff and government officials. 

The data offers a rare glimpse into the recent healthcare situation in the country, which one former U.N. official said offers little reason for optimism. 

Based on visits to medical facilities “in nine provinces and 41 counties” by North Korean staff, UNICEF “identified insufficient supplies of medicines, drugs, vaccines and medical consumables at the facility level,” according to the report.

The U.N. agency also assessed “inadequate knowledge