Nongovernment Organizations and Civil Society

Mongolia Steps Up Campaigns as First HIV Cases Reported

In 2007, when Marie Stopes International Mongolia (MSIM) launched an HIV/AIDS prevention initiative in Mongolia, there were no data indicating any cases of HIV/AIDS in the country.

One year later, MSIM has included 38 registered new cases of HIV in its mid-term report.

The findings should come as no surprise to those engaged in providing health services in the country. They were aware that it would be a matter of time before HIV spreads to Mongolia.

This is due to two main factors. One, since Mongolia opened its economy after the collapse of the Eastern Bloc, the rise in domestic and international tourist and business travel has bought a sharp increase in sexually transmitted infections. The second reason is that the HIV epidemic has accelerated rapidly in Mongolia’s neighbors – chiefly Russia, Kazakhstan, and the People’s Republic of China – fuelled primarily by injecting drug use.

The MSIM initiative – part of an ADB-financed project NGO Initiatives to Prevent HIV/AIDS – was launched to prepare Mongolia for the eventual arrival of HIV. It targets tens of thousands among high risk and vulnerable groups such as construction and factory workers, students, and homeless people. It aims to reach 3,000 beneficiaries through service provision, 2,000 through education sessions, 30,000 through information and education campaigns, and 500,000 through condom distribution.

The subproject concentrates on two strategies: increasing acceptance among Mongolians of anti-drug and anti-disease infection measures through Voluntary Confidential Counseling and Testing (VCCT) for HIV; and improving usage and acceptance of affordable male condoms.

Condom promotion and distribution are acknowledged by MSIM as the most appropriate HIV prevention measures. In February 2008, MSIM began distributing a new low-priced condom, the Mungulug brand, through pharmacies, kiosks, hotels and official MSIM distributors in each of the country’s provinces.

In the first four months since launch, 370,000 Mungulug condoms had been distributed, exceeding expectations.

The launch was accompanied by widespread television advertising, distribution of posters and leaflets. Even before the Mungulug brand was launched, MSIM had already distributed 2.8 million condoms of various brands by the end of 2007.

The initiative also considers VCCT as important both in terms of surveillance and detection of sexually transmitted infections and subsequent HIV.

MSIM plans to evaluate the impact of these activities later. It maintains that Mongolian’s low HIV figures strongly indicate that prevention messages, information campaigns, and the provision of condoms have been highly effective.