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Miga is doing his homework. He is happier and healthier
thanks to REDS
@UNICEF/2015/Enkhzul Altangerel
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Gripping the pen firmly in his small hand, 6-year-old
Myagmarbaatar (Miga) carefully writes out numbers from one to ten. He’s doing
his homework. “I like to go to school”, he says, smiling cheerfully. “We
learned many things at school – yesterday I learned number 7! We are also
learning letters”. Miga started school this year, and he couldn’t be more
excited about his journey of learning.
Miga lives with his parents, 4-year-old brother Boldo, and
4-month-old sister Azjargal, in a small, dilapidated in Nalaikh district on the
outskirts of Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia.
It’s the coldest capital in the world, with winter
temperatures plummeting to -40C, and Miga’s house, without a front door and no
money to buy coal to heat it, is often freezing. His family is extremely poor,
living in dire conditions, without running water.
Uranjargal, Miga’s mother, is unemployed and stays at home
to look after her children. She has a mild mental disability, which makes it
harder to find work. Miga’s father, Usukhbayar, was a plumber but he lost his
job because of the cuts a few years ago. Until recently, the family had no
regular, stable source of income, relying on welfare support and Usukhbayar’s
seasonal work at a brick factory.
When the Reach Every District and Soum (REDS) strategy
started in Nalaikh last year, the family was identified as at-risk.
Chuluuntsetseg, head of Ami-Erdene family clinic, explains “Uranjargal was
pregnant at the time, but she was not receiving antenatal care. The family was living in a very difficult
condition, with no food to eat, and as a result, the children were at risk of
malnutrition. We made sure that she received care before and during her
pregnancy, birth spacing advice and also provided micronutrients for the
children, summer strengthening camp, as well as food stamps with support of the
khoroo* governor’s office. Also, we provided them with essential medicines for
free when their children were sick”.
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Boldo (in the back) loves going to kindergarten where he can
make friends, learn, and play in safe environment
@UNICEF/2015/Enkhzul Altangerel
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It didn’t stop there. Like almost half the children in
Nalaikh, Miga’s little brother Boldo wasn’t going to pre-school because there
just aren’t enough places. Early childhood education is key to improving poor
children’s well-being, so the khoroo REDS strategy team, made up of the family
clinic and the khoroo governor’s office, were determined that Boldo should not
miss out. They submitted a special request to the kindergarten management, and
Boldo was admitted. “Boldo is really enjoying the kindergarten”, says
Usukhbayar.
“The khoroo people helped me get a job as plumber. I am so
very thankful for them, because now I can take care of my family better with a
stable income. Also, they helped me register my house under my name. Now that I
have a job, a house, and my children are well, I have no doubt that our future
will be bright!” he adds.
Reaching the unreached
The deprivations endured by children in poor urban
communities are alarming and often obscured by broad statistical averages. For
children, poverty means being deprived of the basic necessities for a good
life, like nutritious food, health care, clean water, education and protection.
In Nalaikh district where Miga lives, 42 per cent of the 34,000-strong
population live below the poverty line. The under-five mortality rate is 48 per
1,000 live births, in striking contrast to only 11 in Ulaanbaatar.
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Chuluuntsetseg, head of Ami-Erdene family clinic explaining
the mother and child health situation of different khoroos on the map.
@UNICEF/2015/Enkhzul Altangerel
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To tackle these issues, UNICEF is implementing the REDS
strategy in partnership with the Ministry of Health and the World Health
Organization. This nationwide initiative targets poor people in towns and
cities and herder families living in remote areas and helps them access basic
health and social welfare services, such as immunization, antenatal and
reproductive health care, nutrition supplements, and essential medicines.
“The REDS strategy implementation is really going well in
our district”, explains Dr Altantuya, public health specialist at Nalaikh
district health centre. “For instance, before, there were only two immunization
units in Nalaikh, but now almost all khoroos have immunization units at their
family clinics. It helps to increase immunization coverage. Improved access to
integrated child health care and the improved nutritional status of children
has contributed to a decrease in mortality and sickness among children”.
Poverty and health
Saving children’s lives and improving their health is at the
core of UNICEF’s work. Most child deaths are from poverty and the lack of
universal basic health care; many of these deaths are preventable. UNICEF
supports strategic low-cost, high-impact interventions aimed at reducing
preventable child deaths. REDS is one of them.
“The Reaching Every District and Soum strategy identifies
the most disadvantaged families, mothers and children, and assists local
government to deliver basic health and social protection services to them. Only
delivering health service is not sufficient to protect children’s health.
Children will not be healthy if the family has no food, fuel, home and stable
source of income”, says UNICEF Mongolia health specialist Surenchimeg
Vanchinkhuu.
“Thanks to the strategy, Nalaikh district has decreased
under five child mortality and their hospital admission rate”, she adds.
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Usukhbayar, Miga and Uranjargal with baby Azjargal sleeping at
the back
@UNICEF/2015/Enkhzul Altangerel
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Healthy children, become healthy adults, who are able to
create better lives for themselves, their communities and countries. Across
Mongolia, REDS is helping children and their families build the foundations for
a brighter future.
*khoroo: the smallest administrative subdivision of
Ulaanbaatar.
Author:
Enkhzul Altangerel, Digital Communications Consultant at UNICEF Mongolia
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