“I have 20 students in my class, and 13 of them are from herder families,” said Byamba, the fifth-grade teacher in a Tsagaannuur soum, Khuvsgul province of Mongolia, located more than 1000 km from the capital. This is a vast country, where nomadic herders are scattered through steppes and mountains, grazing their animals. Many herder children attend remote boarding schools. When COVID-19 hit Mongolia in January 2020, all schools nationwide were closed, sending 900,000 children into remote learning. Classes were broadcast on the national TV channels on topics such as Mongolian language, mathematics, and science. Different channels were geared to different age groups. Later, the classes were also made available online. But it was harder for some kids to keep up than others. “It’s not easy for herder children to keep up the tele-lessons while they are away from school,” says Byamba, the teacher. She explains that many herder children travel long distances with their family and livestock during the harsh winter. Schools reopened in September 2020, only to close again two months later when there was a local outbreak. As the months wore on, more and more students were falling behind in their classes. While solar panels or small generators are increasingly being used by herding families to produce electricity, they are not a reliable source of power. Power outages meant no tele-lessons. For some such families, internet access is a luxury. No opportunities for some children There were other shortcomings to the tele-lessons for some families. A recent study led by UNICEF revealed that five per cent of the children and parents surveyed had no TV or electronic device to access the lessons; sixteen per cent of the children did not attend the TV lessons even when they had devices to use. Among those most lacking access were children from low-income herder families whose parents were working and could not oversee their schooling. Other complaints emerged: teaching on TV is one-way, and the contents are not interesting for young learners. In addition, the lessons weren’t meeting the needs of children with special needs or from ethnic minorities. To address these concerns, the United Nations worked with the Ministry of Education and Science to improve online educational resources with more interactive and accessible models.   A joint project by UNICEF, UNFPA, and UNESCO addressed the immediate needs of providing e-learning, enhancing e-content development of core curriculum subjects including health education, and improving education policy in Mongolia, adapted to remote and online learning. UNICEF’s helped create high-quality e-learning contents and introduce technologies for e-learning. As a result, pre-primary and primary school children now have access to e-lessons with animated cartoons that double as a problem-solving activity. After the lessons, children can take quizzes or do other interactive work. “Most children in the countryside weren’t watching the lessons on TV but were using smartphones and other electronic devices,” says Alex Heikens, UNICEF representative in Mongolia. “That makes quite a difference in the way you present the content.”   Playing while learning “My son has a form of autism, and it wasn’t easy for him to follow the TV lessons,” says T. Odtsetseg mother of a third-grader. “However, the lessons on the e-learning platform make it a lot easier for him to understand the subjects and work independently.” Another mother echoes that sentiment. “My son gets excited when I call him to take his online lessons,” says B. Uyanga, mother of a 4-year-old preschooler. “He particularly liked the activity where we made paper planes. Pre-school children feel they are playing while learning.” Educators are on board as well. “My students are more interested in the new content,” says one teacher, Ms. Javzandolgor. The joint UN project has already created 86 of the planned 104 lessons and made them publicly available on the econtent.edu.mn. The rest of the lessons are to be completed soon. Since its launch on 25 November, the lessons have gotten over 100,000 pageviews. UNICEF is now working to make the educational contents even more widely available. The content developers are working to create audio lessons, and families who do not have devices to listen will also be given radios. The project also sought to make the remote learning accessible to children with disabilities and children from ethnic minorities to receive the lesson in their mother tongue. Kazakh and Tuva children are now able to receive lessons in their ethnic languages, while all contents are supported with sign language. Meanwhile, UNESCO is working with the Mongolian authorities to harness the potential of ICT to ensure equitable and inclusive learning opportunities for all. Beyond the pandemic “Our aim is to make sure that no one is left out,” says Kaori Ishikawa, Head of Office of the UNFPA in Mongolia, which also supports health and sexuality education through the e-learning platform. “The United Nations is supporting Mongolia in its fight against COVID-19,” says Tapan Mishra, UN Resident Coordinator for Mongolia. “This initiative could serve as a catalyst to new innovations in the education sector in Mongolia—during the pandemic and beyond.”

Uyanga is an entrepreneur and a mother to three young children. She is the force behind 'Made with Mother’s Heart', the company behind the “UR.mine” brand. The brand, which is a play on words that could be interpreted as “my child” in Mongolian or “you are mine” in English, produces empowering statement clothes for children. Uyanga started her venture in 2017 with as little as MNT 500,000 (USD 175) in capital and an infant to care for. She admits that being a mompreneur has been no easy feat, especially as her three kids are all younger than 4 years. Juggling breastfeeding and working full-time was particularly difficult, and she would even have to bring her babies on trips to local and international markets to buy raw materials. Uyanga reflects that motherhood slows down her career growth, but she prefers to think of her children as her inspiration to succeed. “Caring for my children is not a reason to set aside my business or to give up on my dreams,” Uyanga said. “Rather, my children are the reason why I have been so motivated and energized to succeed. Children are indeed invaluable teachers. They teach us patience. They help us to be more attentive to the needs of others, and to better communicate with those around us. The way I see it, this is what makes women even more powerful, even in running a business.” Now, almost four years and two more children later, her business is thriving despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, and she even has plans for expansion in 2021. This is in part due to the fact that Made with Mother’s Heart was quickly able to adapt during the pandemic. With the demand for her primary products declining during the lockdown, Uyanga turned her eyes instead to produce what was needed instead – face masks. She also adjusted her production plans; she continued producing clothes for infants as babies are still being born every day, but she decided to stop producing clothes for young children as they have been staying at home due to kindergarten and school closures. Beyond pursuing profit to help support her family, Uyanga also makes sure to give back, especially by helping uplift mothers and grandmothers in her community. Made with Mother’s Heart employs grandmothers in their production like. These grandmothers are able to craft products like leather and felt baby shoes in their own homes, which gives them the opportunity to earn for themselves while taking care of their grandchildren. During the lockdown, Uyanga also collaborated with the Goolingo Business Group to organize a training for over 500 fellow mothers on how to start their own small businesses. As a result, 5 participants so far have launched their own businesses using what they have learned from the training. When asked about her plans for the future, Uyanga shared that she hopes to not only expand her company at a national scale, but she is also working on exporting a proudly Mongolian brand produced with materials that are 100% locally sourced. Watch Uyanga's full intervew at MNB Family Delgertsetseg has always dreamed of becoming a police officer. Her father worked in the police force for 32 years up until his retirement, and ever since she was a child, she knew she wanted to follow in the footsteps of her personal hero. She finally achieved her dreams in the autumn of 2008. She graduated from Ikh Zasag University’s Law School, and she took a short course at the Police Academy, which led to her landing a job at the Bayanzurkh District Police Department, despite some early setbacks that came with raising children that were still too young. Today, Delgertsetseg is a police lieutenant in charge of domestic violence cases in the 2nd Division of the Bayanzurkh District Police Department, where her husband also works as an investigator. She shared that one of the things that worries her these days is the domestic violence situation in the country. She believes that husbands and wives need to communicate better to better understand each other and avoid conflicts that could escalate into violence. She also noticed how alcoholism has been a major trigger to the high rate of domestic violence. For example, in one night, an average of 10 perpetrators of domestic violence who commit their offences while drunk is held at the detention center. When Mongolia recorded its first cases of community transmission in November 2020, the government imposed a strict lockdown that was enforced by mobilizing the entire police force and other civil servants. Delgertsetseg was put in charge of 67 civil servants on continuous patrol, and many of these civil servants remarked how they could not believe how hard police work was, even though many of them were glad to help out during this difficult time. All these responsibilities come on top of her regular duty to work on domestic violence cases, which has spiked throughout the pandemic. Delgertsetseg has made sacrifices for her job, including losing precious quality time with her family and risking her own health to keep the country safe during the pandemic. With both her and her husband working especially hard during this time, often from early in the morning until late in the evening, they also had to rely on the help of their eldest daughter who kept the house in order and looked after their younger child. However, the couple truly believes that their family can overcome any difficulties if their relationship is kept grounded on mutual understanding and respect. Even with their busy schedules, the couple would always do their best not to miss special occasions, or at the very least, they would go out of their way to show their affection. Delgertsetseg believes that it is this philosophy and commitment shared between her and her husband that cultivates a warm and supportive environment for their family, and she also believes that such efforts could generally reduce domestic violence in the country. Still, Delgertsetseg has been told many times by her loved ones to shift careers and find something easier to do. But she is not willing to give up on her lifelong dream; she loves her job, and she values her ability to keep survivors of domestic violence safe from further harm. Watch Delgertsetseg's full intervew at MNB Family When Odonchimeg started her journey to become a social worker, she admittedly did not really know what that meant. All she knew was that social workers help people, and that is something she wants to do. Today, Odonchimeg has been serving as a social worker at the Chingeltei District of Ulaanbaatar for the last 14 years, and every day, she works tirelessly to help the many vulnerable people living in very difficult conditions in her community, including the elderly living alone, people with disabilities, and survivors of gender-based violence (GBV). Odonchimeg often spends long hours roaming her community and visiting the homes of people that she knows are struggling to evaluate their conditions and to refer them to agencies that provide the help that they need. She shares that one of the people she looks out for is a man struggling with a mental disorder. Every time she passes by his house, she makes sure to check for smoke coming from his chimney or a light seen through his window. She is always happy to see these small signs because they let her know that he is fine. On days when the chimney is still or the window is dark, she worries and stops by his home to see if he is doing well. Odonchimeg also pays special attention to the issue of domestic violence in her community, tackling it from both the side of the survivor and the perpetrator. She acknowledges that over the years, people have become more aware and less tolerant of domestic violence, which has led to an improvement of GBV detection and an increase in the number of survivors to seek help.  However, there is still a knowledge gap among the public regarding the relevant laws that protect their right to live free of violence, and she knows that social workers and other officials like her at the grassroots level need to act quickly to prevent and respond to GBV. This was especially critical during the COVID-19 lockdowns, as they observed a clear increase in the number of domestic violence-related calls and reports. Aside from providing social services to survivors seeking help, Odonchimeg has also been proactive in working with perpetrators of violence. She has initiated trainings and organized support groups to help alcoholics who perpetrate domestic violence to reform their attitudes and behaviors. She admits that it has been a daunting task, but she has already seen some positive results. A fierce passion to help others has always fueled Odonchimeg’s work, but this same vigor sometimes led to difficulties in her personal life. Particularly during her first few years as a social worker, she struggled with handling difficult cases because her empathic nature led to her internalizing the hardships of her clients. She could not stop thinking about their problems and she would spend many sleepless nights in turmoil over their situations. These days, Odonchimeg has gotten better at balancing staying compassionate in dealing with her clients but still placing some emotional distance between her and her cases to protect her own mental health. However, she continues to work tirelessly, sometimes working overnight or throughout weekends. As a result, she has not been able to spend enough quality time with her children, but she always tries to make up for it by spending as much as her free time with them as possible. Even with all these challenges, Odonchimeg feels that it is an honor for her to be a social worker and to help people change their lives for the better. Wath Odonchimeg's full intervewT at MNB Family -------- In celebration of Women’s Month, UNFPA Mongolia in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection and the MNB Family Network is shining the light on stories of excellence, resilience and leadership of everyday women in Mongolia during the COVID-19 pandemic. The stories were first published on the UNFPA Mongolia's website --------  

Op-ed jointly by UN Resident Coordinator Tapan Mishra and FAO Representative in Mongolia Vinod Ahuja Food is more than just what we eat. It is the foundation of our culture, our economy, and our relationship with the natural world. The way in which we produce, process and consume food, which experts call ‘food systems’, touches every aspect of human life. When they function well, food systems deliver food security and nutrition so we can grow and be active and healthy. When our food systems fail, the resulting disorder threatens our education, health, and economy, as well as human rights, peace and security, affecting those who are already marginalized and most vulnerable. What do we mean by “food systems”? The term encompasses every person and every process involved in growing, raising or making food, right through to consumption and what we do with our waste – from farmers and herders to processors to supermarket cashiers; from flour mills to refrigerated trucks and neighbourhood composting facilities[1]. Hundreds of thousands of Mongolians earn their livings from the food systems. In 2020, agriculture alone accounted for 24 per cent of jobs and about 12 per cent of the gross value added produced in Mongolia. The stress put on food systems by the COVID-19 pandemic underscores the fragility of the systems and the interconnectedness of challenges and their impacts on people, the planet, and prosperity. For many – especially those who were already struggling before the pandemic – the food system disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have led to job losses, hunger and malnutrition. The FAO survey estimated that 72 per cent of households in Mongolia had to compromise on food during the COVID-19 crisis. While COVID-19 may have catalysed food and nutrition insecurity for many more people, it is not the underlying cause of the challenges. Food systems were already inequitable in Mongolia even before COVID-19. 28.4 per cent of the population lived in poverty in 2018 and nearly one in four Mongolians experienced moderate or severe food insecurity[2]. At the same time, the number of people who are obese or who suffer from food-related diseases has been increasing; 55 per cent of Mongolians are overweight, and 20 per cent are obese. At 32 per cent, Mongolia has the second-highest levels of premature mortality among low middle-income countries[3]. At the same time, we continue to waste a significant portion of the food; food waste accounts for 36 per cent of solid waste in Ulaanbaatar city in summer[4]. Climate change is massively interfering with food systems, increasing the frequency and severity of dzuds, droughts, floods, and windstorms. For example, Mongolia experienced one of the most severe dzuds in 2021, leading to a large-scale livestock loss of 1.5 million animals. Yet, the current food systems are also part of the problem. The agriculture sector alone contributes 49 per cent of all greenhouse gases in Mongolia. On 16 October 2019, World Food Day, the United Nations Secretary-General announced his intention to convene a Food Systems Summit in 2021. This decision was based on increasing recognition that transforming food systems must be central in the countries efforts to realize the vision of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. For example, food systems and nutrition patterns were identified in the 2019 Global Sustainable Development Report as a key entry point to accelerate the worldwide transition to a more sustainable trajectory[5]. Moreover, in the Ministerial Declaration of the 2018 High-Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development[6], the UN member states called upon all stakeholders to adopt a sustainable food systems approach. If Mongolia is to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in the remaining time, its food systems must change. We need to rapidly rethink how we produce, process, market and consume our food, and dispose of our waste. We should turn the COVID-19 crisis into the opportunity to rebalance and transform the food systems in Mongolia making them more inclusive, sustainable and resilient. Mongolia has a significant potential to transition to sustainable food systems, that is already underway. This would require technological innovation, strategic use of economic incentives, cohesive and participatory governance, and behavioural changes. Sustainable intensification of agriculture and strengthening agriculture value chains can help to promote the export of value-added agricultural products and reduce dependence on the import of food to meet food demand for a growing population and sustain rural jobs. Policy and institutional coherence are essential to address the linkages across food systems, climate change and natural resource management. Recognizing these trends and challenges, the Government of Mongolia approved a national program ‘Healthy Food-Healthy Mongolian’ in 2019 that aims to provide citizens with healthy and safe foods. Sustainable food systems approaches have been also mainstreamed in the national development policies, including Mongolia’s Vision-2050 for Sustainable Development and mid-term development programmes. It is also commendable that stakeholders in every sector are beginning to take actions and change their behaviours in support of sustainable food systems. Government and other stakeholders are increasingly aware that food systems are one of the most powerful links between humans and the planet. They want to see a shift in these patterns in the way that enhances inclusive economic growth while safeguarding environment. This has been demonstrated by the strong convening role of the Government of Mongolia in organizing regional and private sector food systems dialogues and the active participation of multiple stakeholders in independent dialogues with youth and civil society. The National Food Systems Dialogue in Mongolia on 6-8 July 2021 will provide an unprecedented opportunity to capitalize on this growing movement and craft a catalytic moment for public mobilization and actionable commitments to accelerate the progress towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Evidence, ideas, and commitments gained at the National Food Systems Dialogue in Mongolia will not only contribute to the Global Food Systems Summit to be convened by the UN Secretary-General in September 2021 but, most importantly, they will help Mongolia itself to unleash new actions and innovative solutions and strategies to transform the national food systems and leverage the shifts to deliver progress across all Sustainable Development Goals.   [1] Why Food Systems Matter https://summitdialogues.org/overview/dialogues-and-the-food-systems-summit/why-food-systems-matter/ [2] FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO. 2020. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2020. Transforming food systems for affordable healthy diets. Rome, FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/ca9692en [3] Second Joint Mission of the United Nations Interagency Task Force on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases, Mongolia, 5-9 September 2016. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2017 (WHO/NMH/NMA/17.50). Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO [4] ADB, Mongolia: Ulaanbaatar Community Food Waste Recycling Project https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/project-documents/51102/51102-001-pam-en.pdf [5] Independent Group of Scientists appointed by the Secretary-General, Global Sustainable Development Report 2019: The Future is Now – Science for Achieving Sustainable Development, (United Nations, New York, 2019). https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/24797GSDR_report_2019.pdf [6] Ministerial declaration of the 2018 high-level political forum on sustainable development, convened under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council, on the theme “Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies” https://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=E/HLS/2018/1&Lang=E