Helping Mongolian Children Cope with Climate Change
Published: Jul 24, 2024 Reading time: 3 minutesAccording to UNICEF, this year's dzud claimed twenty lives, including two children. A dzud refers to the long, freezing winter typical of Mongolia. However, with advancing climate change, frosts are becoming more frequent and often precede prolonged droughts, with critical periods increasingly less predictable.
In partnership with the Federal Republic of Germany, Friends of Mongolia and the financial support of our Club of Friends, we provide humanitarian aid to families with children under the REACH project. REACH is being implemented in the Bayan-Olgii and Hovd provinces. Its primary goal is to address the educational, healthcare, and child protection needs of herder families and their children in remote areas affected by dzuds.
Professionals conducted child protection risk assessments for 270 herder families and 18 school boarding houses in these affected areas. As a result, we provided on-site child protection risk reduction counselling to at least 270 herder parents and guardians, 18 school administrators, and 270 children. We helped arrange education, psychological counselling, and other assistance for needy children, and 540 children received calcium-based vitamins and a set of learning kits to help them spend their summer vacation productively. Herder families also received cash assistance.
At the start of the school year, we will distribute learning kits and vitamins to 2,860 herders' children living in 18 school dormitories in the selected districts. Each school dormitory will also receive 100 books for elementary, middle, and high school students.
The REACH project is not our only project addressing climate change. More frequent dzuds also mean a greater need for heating. In traditional Mongolian Ger (yurts), coal is still the predominant heating source, which is one reason Ulaanbaatar ranks among the worst polluted cities.
According to the World Health Organisation, the leading cause of mortality for children under five is lower respiratory tract infections. Due to air pollution in Mongolia, there are 132 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants annually, while the global average is 92 per 100,000.
To address this issue, we also focus on transforming heating methods. We supply electric heaters and energy-efficient heating packages so women and children do not have to get up early to heat the home or clean the coal waste. We help insulate Gers better and properly ventilate them so their inhabitants can breathe better and live healthier. Jan Mrkvička, Director of the Relief and Development Department and the Head of the Mongolian Country programme, recently visited several yurts supported by the CHIP project.
The CHIP programme, funded by the Mongolian government, UNICEF, and our internal funds, has helped over 2,200 low- and medium-income households across Mongolia transition from coal to clean heating technologies. By equipping 30 kindergartens with clean, warm, and healthy environments, the programme has enhanced the well-being of over 1,100 children under 5 in remote and residential areas. Moreover, the programme is expanding its scope, partnering with 11 provinces and three districts to develop and execute comprehensive "Climate and Clean Air Action Plans" in collaboration with local governments. This holistic approach aims to manage and evaluate the long-term impacts of these initiatives, ensuring a sustainable and impactful outcome for the communities served. We have carried out this programme together with the Mongolian Sustainable Finance Association and the Mongolian University of Science and Technology since 2019.
