Japan and ADB Helping Improve Access to Health Services in Mongolia's Capital
MANILA, PHILIPPINES - Japan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are financing a project to give disadvantaged groups living in the capital of Mongolia better access to health services. The project will conduct surveys in 10 districts of Ulaanbaatar to assess factors that prevent the poor, migrants and individuals with special needs from gaining access to health services. At least 10 strategies to address these constraints will be identified and proposed to the government. Invididuals with special needs include the disabled, the elderly, homeless, and street children. “We expect the project to help at least 30,000 disadvantaged people living in the project districts gain better access to health services,” said Claude Bodart, health specialist of ADB’s East Asia Department. The Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction will provide a $2 million grant for the project. ADB will manage the grant. The government and communities covered by the project will provide $127,100 in-kind to complete project funding. The health sector is a key focus of ADB assistance to Mongolia. The Health Sector Master Plan of the government stresses the need to provide vital health services to its people, with emphasis on the elderly, adolescents, and vulnerable groups. Mongolia needs help in coping with the massive migration of the rural poor, which is taking its toll on social, hospital and primary health services in many urban areas. The poor make up 27% of the population of Ulaanbaatar. Most of the new arrivals are unemployed and cannot avail of free social and health services provided by the government because they have not met residential registration requirements. They also cannot afford to pay for health care services, such as medicines and diagnostic tests. About ADB | 
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