[INTERVIEW] NGOs 'better at solving some of North Korea's intractable problems'

Dr. Stephen Linton, the founder and chief of the Eugene Bell Foundation, tells tuberculosis (TB) patients how to collect sputum samples, during the organization's three-week visit to North Korea from Oct. 16 to Nov. 6. Courtesy of the Eugene Bell Foundation

By Jung Da-min

It is time for the two Koreas to permit private sector exchanges so personal relationships can be developed, the leader of a major NGO says.

"When government officials monopolize and control private level exchanges, it is difficult for people from the South and North to effect real reconciliation," said Dr. Stephen Linton, who has long led humanitarian efforts focused on North Korea.

Dr. Stephen Linton. Korea Times photo by Jung Da-min

"If the government permits access, private citizens can develop relationships with North Korea. But if it then suddenly restricts them, real relationships cannot develop. This also happens when governments fund private exchanges and then, suddenly, when policy changes, withdraw support."

Linton is the founder and chairman of the Eugene Bell Foundation. He made the comments during an interview with The Korea Times on Nov. 30 at a Seoul cafe.

"I have seen the ROK government support and then restrict private sector contacts under the Kim Young-sam, Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations," he said. "Every time there is a change in administration, the policy on private sector relationships changes."

Linton said the Eugene Bell Foundation could continue its work in North Korea over the past 23 years thanks to donations from private citizens. Relatively little support has come from governments.

"Eugene Bell is nothing more than an organization that delivers assistance that is provided primarily by private Korean citizens and organizations," he said. "Our source of support is voluntary contributions, not taxes."

Eugene Bell Foundation delegation members and North Korean caregivers register potential TB patients. Courtesy of the Eugene Bell Foundation

Linton said although there are problems the government can solve better than civic groups, TB is not one of them, which is the foundation's target in North Korea.

Some organizations, particularly large NGOs, hire lobbyists in the hope of receiving funding for implementing government-sponsored programs.

Other NGOs depend on donated goods. Relying on donated goods is not an option for a medical program like TB treatment, Linton said. "It is impossible to organize a treatment program with donated goods because you have to order specialized medications directly from manufacturers, sometimes nine months in advance," he said. "Support for TB from governments usually goes to international organizations like the Global Fund and the World Health Organization."

To treat regular TB, four drugs must be used simultaneously to prevent the development of drug resistance, Linton said.

Sputum samples are prepared for transport. Eugene Bell Foundation

GeneXperts are used to diagnose MDR-TB. Courtesy of Eugene Bell Foundation

However, there is a smaller group of patients with TB who have multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), meaning the TB germs in their bodies are resistant to one or more of these drugs.

From 1997 to 2007, the foundation provided regular TB assistance. After the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM) began providing regular TB assistance in 2008, EugeneBell switched to multidrug-resistant TB. The Global Fund program, administered by UNICEF, treats fewer MDR-TB patients than the Eugene Bell Foundation.

MDR TB requires treatment with six different medications that are a hundred times more expensive than regular TB medicines.

Of about 8,000 new MDR TB patients in North Korea every year, 1,000 were treated by the Global Fund and 1,200 by the Eugene Bell Foundation this year. But the Global Fund that fights AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria pulled out of the North as of June 30, citing "a lack of assurance and risk management for the deployment of resources in the country." The supply of Global Fund TB medications will run out at the end of next year.

To seek support for TB treatment, North Korea recently established the Korean Fund against TB & Malaria (KFTM), an organization within the Ministry of Public Health that focuses on TB and malaria control plans. But so far no solution has been found to replace the Global Fund program.

Linton said it is also important to remember North Koreans are working hard to solve their TB problems.

"North Korean caregivers do all that they can and are very devoted to their TB patients ," he said. "Good TB treatment is a community effort. Instead of the Eugene Bell Foundation, donors who make voluntary contributions to make it possible for us to send medications should also get more recognition."

Patients celebrating completion of the 18-month treatment program for MDR-TB. Eugene Bell Foundation