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.  

Photos: Water and sanitation for schools

Children from remote areas outside Tarialan soum, Khuvsgul province, describe the challenges of spending the winter at boarding school. UNICEF is upgrading the water, sanitation and hygiene facilities at the main school and dormitory, under an AusAID-funded project.

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“I want to be a teacher”: creating a Child Friendly Community in Nalaikh

Sambuu with his daughters and granddaughter
© UNICEF Mongolia/2013/Andy Brown

Ten-year-old Sarantugs lives with her parents and ten siblings in Nalaikh, a remote district of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. She will be enrolling in fourth grade in September, and is one of few children in the family who can attend school. Her father Sambuu, 59, used to work as a plumber in the local governor’s office but he had a stroke and had to leave his job. He is counting the days until his sixtieth birthday, when he will be able to claim a pension.

Nalaikh is an industrial district that was established around a coal mine that supplies Ulaanbaatar. It has a mixed-ethnic community including Mongolians and Kazakhs. Sambuu has nine children plus grandchildren, some of whom are disabled. They are registered as a poor family and receive food stamps plus financial assistance of 10,000 tugriks per adult and 5,000 per child.

Schools for Asia: Providing a better education for Mongolia’s Monk Boys

13 year old Enkhbayar in class at the monastery
© UNICEF Mongolia/2012/Sabine Dolan

Gandantegchilen Monastery, Ulaanbaatar. It’s early morning and still dark outside the Gandantegchilen Buddhist Monastery in Mongolia’s capital of Ulaanbaatar; the voices of young monks chanting their prayers can be heard.

The boy monks who live in this monastery come from very different backgrounds but all have been selected for a life of prayer and contemplation. Until recently, aside from studying religion and scriptures, the children here did not have access to basic education.  This changed two years ago, thanks to a UNICEF-supported initiative to reach out-of-school children.

Play for today: supporting children with disabilities

Zulbayar and Temuulen at a playgroup for children with disabilities
© UNICEF Mongolia/2013/Andy Brown

Temuulen is a nine-year-old boy with disabilities living in Nalaikh, a small town near Ulaanbaatar, capital of Mongolia. It is a coal mining district, with a mixed-ethnic community including Mongolians and Kazakhs. Temuulen has a rare genetic condition that causes muscle wasting. The symptoms started when he was three and have got progressively worse.

Once a week, Temuulen attends a playgroup for children with disabilities at the local hospital, run by the Association of Parents of Children with Disabilities. There is one room with toys and learning materials for the children, and another for the parents to meet and socialise.  “I like playing with toy cars,” he says. “My best friend is Zulbayar.”

Photos: children with disabilities in Nalaikh

Temuulen and Zulbayar are nine-year-old boys with disabilities living in Nalaikh, Mongolia. Both boys attend a playgroup for children with disabilities at their local hospital. UNICEF is supporting the local government and Parents’ Association to help these children and their families.

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