Аавын бэлтгэсэн эрүүл хоол

Эрдэнэбат бичил тэжээлийн холимогоор баяжуулсан шөл бэлтгэж 

байгаа нь © НҮБХСМонгол/2014/ Магвандоржийн Бямбарагчаа

Эрдэнэбат 26 настай бөгөөд  зуухаа тойрон баяжуулан агшаасан будааны шөлийг өөрийн гараар хичээнгүйлэн хийж байна. Тэрээр хоолоо хийж дуусмагц, өрөөнд буй бусад таван эцэгт хандан өөрийн хийсэн хоолны илчлэгийн талаар ярьж өглөө.

Helping children turn their lives around

A child in need of protection ©UNICEF/MGLA2007-00005/Holmes

When Bat (not his real name) was 14, he would run away from home a lot. Sometimes for a day, sometimes for longer. His older brothers would look for him and when they found him would bring him home and often beat him.

Нандиагийн охины эрүүл амьдралын эхлэл

Фото зураг: Нандиа охины хамт

M. Булгансор охин эхийнхээ өвөр дээр эрхлэн тоглож байна. Охиноо инээж хөхрөх бүрд Д.Нандинцэцэг (Нандиа, 19 настай) нь түүнийг энхрийлэн харж, инээмсэглэж байлаа.  Булгансор бол аз жаргалтай, эрүүл энх өсөн торниж буй 7 сартай охин юм. Тэрээр эрүүл саруул бойжиж, өдрөөс өдөрт өсөж том болж байна. Түүний ээж Нандиа их сургуулийн оюутан ба охиноо төрүүлснээс хойш 6 сарын турш зөвхөн өөрийн хөхний сүүгээр хооллож байгаа учраас эрүүл гэдэгт итгэлтэй байдаг.

Riding a reindeer to school

Ulzichimeg is catching up on homework in her 

dormitory ©UNICEF/2014/Zetty Brake

Ulzichimeg is a small girl with hair so long that looks like it has never been cut. When school started on September 1^st, Ulzichimeg joined her two older sisters at the local soum school a full day’s travel away from her family by reindeer.

The Taiga path that leads to mobile kindergarten

This documentary shows a UNICEF supported a kindergarten in the Tsaatan community providing early childhood education to 25 children from one of the most remote areas of Mongolia. Every day parents ride their reindeers up to 1.5 hours to drop their children off at the kindergarten.

Supporting children with disabilities

Oyun-Erdene has a disability. She smiles as her older brother Baljinnyam picks her up and 

carries  her on his back ©UNICEF/NYHQ2012-1781/Sokol

Today is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. This day aims to promote an understanding of people with disabilities and encourages support for their dignity, rights and well-being. People with disabilities face discrimination on a daily basis. Their abilities and capacities are overlooked. They miss out on vital health care and education and are often excluded from society. This is also true for children with disabilities.

Fighting HIV/AIDS in Mongolia

Today is World AIDS day. Around the world there are 35 million people living with HIV and another 19 million who are unaware of their status. Since the 1980s much progress has been made in the fight against HIV/AIDS. One such achievement is that 1.1 million new infections among children were prevented between 2005 and 2013.

Shining a light on greater investment in children

Nyamdavaa is 10 years old and feels safer having street lights near 

his home and school ©UNICEF/2014/Zetty Brake

Monday to Friday, 10 year old Nyamdavaa walks from his home to school and back again along one of the town’s dusty roads. It isn’t far, but in winter (which can last six months) it is very dark.

Proper sanitation comes to a countryside school

Khuliunaa studying in her dormitory, Tarilan village, Khuvsgul province 

© UNICEF Mongolia/2014/M. Byambaragchaa

Khaliunaa, 13, lives with her nomadic family outside Tarialan soum, Khuvsgul province, northern Mongolia. Because her family, father Buyanbadrakh, 44, mother Narangerel, 38 and sister Bulganaa, nine, are animal herders and move several times per year in search of better grazing land, she and her sister have to board at the local dormitory during the school year. If the weather is not too bad during winter they can sometimes travel to their home on the weekend and see their parents.

Ending child deaths from pneumonia

A child in rural Mongolia receiving medical care in rural Mongolia ©UNICEF/NYHQ2010-0448/Cullen 

Today is world pneumonia day. Globally pneumonia is the largest infectious killer of children under five. In 2012 pneumonia killed 1.1 million children under five, or 5,500 children every day, or one child every 15 seconds. Nearly all of these deaths occurred in developing countries.

Photo story: safe horse racing for children

Horse racing is a part of Mongolian culture and has been practiced for centuries. However, the races have changed over time and jockeys are now almost always children. Without helmets and safety gear, the risk to child jockeys of injuries or death is high.

To view the full photo captions, expand the gallery and click 'show info' in the top right corner.

Riders on the storm: protecting child jockeys in Mongolia

Budgarav, 15, was disabled while working as child jockey
© UNICEF Mongolia/2014/Zetty Brake

In a ger tent in Ulziit, horse racing capital of Mongolia, 15-year-old former child jockey Budgarav rests on his crutches and adjusts the baseball cap on his head. Four years ago he was thrown from a horse during training and trampled, losing his front teeth and breaking both his legs. “It was very painful when I fell,” he says.

Welcome to School: Ensuring education for children with disabilities

Davkhar launches a paper plane he built outside the 

family home © UNICEF Mongolia/2014/Andy Brown

Outside a ger tent, Davkhar’s brow is furrowed in concentration. His nimble fingers fold the piece of paper in his hands, making a paper plane. He finishes, looks up and throws the plane.  It flies for a few seconds before floating to the ground. After a few more test runs, he squats down to the ground and starts making adjustments to the plane. On the next attempt it flies further.

Hand washing: Keeping Mongolia’s children healthy

Children washing their hands in rural Mongolia
©UNICEF/MGLA2007-00194/Holmes  

Today is Global Hand Washing Day. Hand washing is one of the most effective ways to save children’s lives. Each year, 1.7 million children under the age of five die from diarrhoea and pneumonia. Washing hands with soap and water, especially after using the toilet and before handling food, helps reduce disease infections by up to 40 per cent, and has far reaching effects on the health and welfare of children and their communities.

Ending violence against girls

If we are to end violence against girls, we much 

change attitudes towards this issue

©UNICEF/Mongolia

Today is international day of the girl child. In 2011, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring October 11^th as the International Day of the Girl Child, drawing attention to girls’ rights and the unique challenges that girls around the world face.

Photos: Inclusive education for all children

Created with flickr slideshow.

Less than half of children with disabilities in Mongolia go to school, partly because of stigma and discrimination. UNICEF is working with the Government and others to make sure all children, including those with disabilities, get a quality education. 

To view the full photo captions, expand the gallery and click 'show info' in the top right corner.

Breast is best: how Uran-Erdene got the best start in life

Uran-Erdene is a healthy and joyful 11-month year old girl. With her two little ponytails and chubby cheeks, she bounces back and forth between her parents laps. She is the youngest of three girls and, according to her mother Sarantugs, she is also the healthiest. Sarantugs believes this is because she exclusively breastfed Uran-Erdene for six months after birth. 

Uran-Erdene's happy when breastfeeding
@UNICEF Mongolia/2014/Ariunzaya Davaa

“I was only 22 when I had my first child,” Sarantugs says. “I was inexperienced and believed the TV adverts about infant formula, so I fed her breast milk substitute almost immediately after birth. At the time, she looked chubby and seemed healthy, so I thought I was doing the right thing. Now I know that infant formula cannot replace breast milk.”

Writing a bright future: Literacy rates in Mongolia

Children raise their hands during class at school in Khuvsgul, northern Mongolia 

© UNICEF/NYHQ2012-1786/Sokol

Earlier this month was International Literacy Day. Mongolian literacy rates are, for adults over 97 per cent, youth (15-24) male above 94 per cent and female youths over 97 percent. These rates are higher than the global literacy rates, which sit at 84.3 per cent, 92.1 per cent and 86.9 per cent respectively.

Fathers’ cooking healthy meals for their kids

Erdenebat scoops micronutrient enriched soup into a bowl
© UNICEF Mongolia/2014/Byambaragchaa Magvandorj

Erdenebat, 26 years old, is bent over a stove, carefully stirring the micronutrient enriched thickened rice soup that he has cooked from scratch. After he finishes cooking, Erdenebat turns to the five other fathers in the room and tells them about the nutritional value of the dish. 

UNICEF Representative on Jargal DeFacto

UNICEF Mongolia Representative Mohamed M Fall was interviewed on NTV's Jargal DeFacto show. He discussed the situation of children in Mongolia and issues ranging from breastfeeding to child mortality.

Nandia gives her baby the best start in life

M.Bulgansor is happily playing on her mother’s lap.  As she giggles her mother, D.Nandintsetseg (Nandia), 19, looks down at her beautiful daughter and smiles. 

Bulgansor is a happy and healthy 7 month old baby girl. She has never been sick and is getting bigger every day.  Her mother, university student Nandia, is convinced that her baby is so healthy because for the first six months of her life she only fed her breast milk.

Prior to giving birth Nandia received regular antenatal care at the Delgermurun Family Clinic in Murun, Khuvsgul.  She attended a range of training sessions for expectant mothers, including one supported by UNICEF on infant and young child feeding.  At this training, Nandia learnt the importance of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a child’s life and made the decision take a year off from her university studies to exclusively breastfeed.