MDG Profile:
Improving local standards of living through the MDGs
The first National Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Report published in 2004 provided an initial assessment of Mongolia’s progress towards the global Goals. In April 2005, the Parliament passed a resolution on Mongolia-specific MDG targets, with an additional MDG 9 on strengthening human rights and fostering democratic governance. The resolution made provisions for the allocation of necessary resources in the annual budgets.
The government completed the MDG needs assessment and costing exercise in November 2006 and the MDG-consistent Generalized Macroeconomic Framework (GMF) was institutionalized in the Ministry of Finance with technical and financial support from the United Nations. The preliminary findings of the needs assessment indicate that to achieve the MDGs, Mongolia needs to mobilize some $14 billion between 2007 and 2015. The MDG-based long-term National Development Strategy was adopted by the Parliament of Mongolia in the beginning of 2008.
According to the second National MDG Report launched in December 2007, among 24 measurable Mongolia-specific MDG targets, 58.3 per cent have been achieved or are likely to be achieved by 2015; 41.7 per cent of targets are considered to be “slow achievers,” or are “regressing.” The most challenging goals are related to income poverty, tuberculosis, air pollution in Ulaanbaatar city, areas covered by forest, housing, the enhancement of gender equality at the political decision-making level and female/male ratio of students in tertiary education and net enrollment rate in primary education.
Government actions to enhance efforts in achieving these targets include: a decision to reflect the MDG needs assessment and costing in annual policy planning and budgeting; the provision of more funding for skills training and for the expansion of small and micro business opportunities; an increase in preventive measures against tuberculosis; efforts to reduce urban air pollution; and the passage of the new elections law, which promotes an increase of female parliamentarians.
In addition, the Government is working to establish a nationwide MDG monitoring system, piloting MDG localization in some local areas involving government and non-government development players to ensure the participatory MDG process, and taking some actions towards linking policy priorities with resource allocations based on the needs assessment exercise.
Examples of UN-supported activities towards achieving the MDGs include: (a) poverty reduction through the promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises; (b) improving local governance and access to justice; (c) strengthening biodiversity conservation through community-based actions and participatory governance; (d) improving maternal health through increased access to quality reproductive health services among population, especially remote and disadvantaged population; (e) establishing a nationwide MDG Monitoring system and MDG localization; (f) increasing capacity of national institutions to analyze and utilize data for MDGs monitoring. In addition, the UN agencies in Mongolia have harmonized their efforts around several joint programmes and initiatives on maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS, water and sanitation, human rights and gender, and MDG monitoring.
Last updated 26 August 2008
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