The public health system of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea embodies the people-first principle.
The State protects the people’s lives and improves the working people’s health by consolidating and developing the system of universal free medical service, strengthening the district doctor system and the system of preventive medicine and improving the supply of materials to the public health sector.
The universal free medical service has come into effect from January Juche 42 (1953).
All the people, including workers, farmers, service personnel and intellectuals, regardless of sex, age, occupation, residential quarters, and the quality and quantity of work performed, are being provided with free medical service on an equal footing. All the charges for medical service, including fees for drugs and prescription, medical examination, hospital treatment and surgical operation, medical care and its travelling expenses, medical service expenses for health checkup, health consultation and vaccination are borne entirely by the State.
The district doctor system is a residential health care system in which a district is assigned to doctors on the principle of organically combining a production unit with a residential unit so as to enable them to take charge of their residents and care them regularly.
The State directs efforts to the prevention of diseases, hygienic and anti-epidemic work, pollution control and hygienic propaganda in order to safeguard and promote the people’s lives and health.
The State looks after the health of women and children, in particular, through the maternity leave and other public health policies.
The DPRK government ensures that the people enjoy the benefits of the socialist public health system by further improving the medical service, putting medical science and technology on the cutting-edge level and building up the material and technical foundations of the public health sector.
