Japan will provide $2 million to offer improved health care to Ulaanbaatur’s poorest citizens.

The money has been allocated by the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction. It will be distributed in Mongolia by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

'We expect the project to help at least 30,000 disadvantaged people living in the project districts gain better access to health services,' the ADB said in a statement.

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 Mongolians, with emphasis on the elderly, adolescents, and other vulnerable groups.

Mongolia has sought help in coping with the massive migration of the rural poor, which is taking its toll on social, hospital and primary health services in urban areas. The poor make up 27 percent of the population of Ulaanbaatar, according to Asian Development Bank figures.

Most of the new arrivals are unemployed and cannot receive social and health services provided by the government because they have not met city residency requirements. They also cannot afford to pay for health care services, such as medicines and diagnostic tests.

www.mongolia-web.com

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