Everybody wishes to live in good health, free from disease.

This is the long-cherished desire of mankind.

In order to realize this desire, the DPRK enforces the people-oriented health policy and section doctor system where everyone can receive treatment gratis when they fall ill.

In recent ten-odd years alone, such modern hospitals as the Okryu Children’s Hospital, Ryugyong General Ophthalmic Hospital and Ryugyong Dental Hospital were built in succession and provincial general hospitals were modernly renovated, thereby contributing to promoting the people’s health.

And preventive and curative institutions throughout the country undergo a complete transformation despite difficult conditions.

This shows the will of the Workers’ Party of Korea to bear responsibility for the people’s health and lives to the last by holding complete and universal free medical service as a national policy in any case.

The government takes responsible care of all the people’s health from beginning to end.

The universal free medical care system takes the special position in the socialist health system of the DPRK.

Seventy years ago, the universal free medical service was enforced in the DPRK at state expense during the grim Fatherland Liberation War decisive of the destiny of the country, not in the period of peaceful construction.

Under the condition where everything was in short supply due to the war, the DPRK government effected the universal free medical service on January 1 1953 in order to take responsible care and protect the people’s lives and has steadily developed it.

At present, the free medical service in the DPRK fully guarantees the medical right of working people on a high level.

All the working people including workers, farmers and intellectuals have equal right to receive free medical service, irrespective of sex, age, residence, occupation and quantity and quality of work and special care is shown for the health of children and pregnant women.

The right, which is granted to all the people, is legally guaranteed by the Socialist Constitution and the Law on Public Health.

The public health law was promulgated in April 1980. Starting  from the fundamental principle of the public health under socialist society, the law clarifies all the principles and requirements arising in public health including the contents of free medical service, civil right, matters and ways for its implementation in consolidating and developing the system and protecting and promoting the people’s health, material supply measures for the development of medical science and technology and public health services, role and duty of health workers as true servants of the people and guidance over public health service.

Thanks to the law, all the medical services are offered gratis in the DPRK.

All diagnoses, tests, operations, treatment with hot spring and mud and rehabilitation are free, as well as treatment of outpatients and inpatients and that through sick calls. Prostheses are provided free for disabled persons and recuperation at sanatoriums is also free.

Such universal free medical service presupposes the well-organized socialist public health system and material and technical foundations.

Efficient medical service units including modern general hospitals, special hospitals, city, county and ri hospitals and clinics can be found from Pyongyang to the lowest administrative units in local areas, and independent pharmaceutical and medical appliances production units and medical workers training institutions are in place in all parts of the country.

Preventive medicine is an important political requirement in socialist public health.

The country puts main stress on the prevention of diseases that are hazardous to the lives and health of working people along with the improvement of hygienic environment by strengthening the hygienic and anti-epidemic work. And it makes sure that hygienic information activities become the work of the whole society.

It works to make the socialist public health system more advantageous by enforcing unique section doctor system, an original medical service system, and enhancing the role of household doctors.

Thanks to the section doctor system whereby doctors are charge of relevant residential areas to take responsible care of, protect and promote the health of residents, working people can promote their health at home with the help of household doctors as well as at hospitals.

Household doctors devote sincere conscience to their work with consciousness that they are in charge of the health of residents and the socialist public health system brings actual benefits to residents by themselves.

They give treatment to visiting patients in the morning and visit residents in their charge in the afternoon. Under the well-organized system, they get familiar with the health of residents as if seeing the palms of their own hands and take timely preventive measures.

Devotion constitutes the attribute and lifeblood of socialist public health and.

Many medical workers dedicate their all for the lives and health of patients and therefore impressive news are reported one after another about medical workers who bring incurably ill patients back to life.

The DPRK stemmed the spread of the malignant virus and eradicated the virus, which made inroads into the country, in the shorted possible period. The fact proves the advantages and vitality of the socialist health system in the DPRK.