At the assembly, the minister of the Public Health of the DPRK noted on the achievements the DPRK government has made in improving SDGs (sustainable development goals) indicators such as average health expectancy, facility-based delivery support and vaccination coverage.

He said that the people-first, people-centered socialist health system of the DPRK provides complete and universal free medical care to all its population regardless of the gender, age, job and residence and this is guaranteed by the legal, institutional, financial and material backup. A good example is that the modern health facilities constructed even in the recent years' economic difficulties and constituting a huge "hospital village" are offering free of charge the specialized quality medical services to the people, he noted.

The 69th South-east Asia Regional Assembly of the WHO held in 2016 rated the DPRK as the most advanced country in implementing the SDGs for public health within the region. And the top prize of public health of the Regional Office for Southeast Asia of the WHO was awarded to the Ministry of Public Health of the DPRK.

It could be heard at the 70th World Health Assembly held last year that the DPRK government is paying special attention to the health improvement and nutrition of women and children and it is to be proud of all over the world that they have got the benefits of health protection from the state on a regular basis.