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NGO PERSPECTIVES for Full Participation and Equality

Mongolia

NGO report with the evaluation of the Asian-Pacific Decade activities

B. Zinamider, Head of the Central Committee of Mongolian DPOs

A. National statistics

Mongolia is a large land-locked country with a total area of 1.56 million square km, but with a population of only 2.6 million people. About a third of the population lives in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, another third in 21 towns or aimag (province) centers, and another third in isolated hamlets or as nomads moving from one place to another for a better pasture for their cattle. From 1921 to 1990 Mongolia achieved high levels of human development with no recorded poverty. Since 1990 poverty levels have risen to 36 % with real unemployment estimated at over 17 % (*). Among them the most adversely affected are disabled.

There are several statistics, regarding the disability issue in Mongolia. According to the data from Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, there are around 115000 (4.8% of the total population) disabled people in Mongolia. From them, number of people with seeing difficulty is 10 100, 6 500 have hearing and speaking difficulties, 20 900 have mental disorders, 28 000 have impaired movement and number of people with other/multiple types of disabilities is around 42 000. Of 39 700 disabled people considered capable to work only 5 200 (13.1%) are actually employed. The unemployment rate of PWDs is therefore extremely high at 87%. 50% of people with disabilities live in poverty and 60% of them are women.

Another survey (Social Welfare Center) says, that 67 558 people with disabilities are registered to receive different kinds of social subsidies for disability and 44 800 people receive certain types of social allowance for disability. The number is supposed to be higher, considering poor medical and social services and lack of information in rural areas and countryside. Also, disabled children under 16 years old usually are not eligible to receive a subsidy.

According to the survey carried out within the CBR program, granted by AIFO, the Italian NGO and European Union (1992-2000) and involved 1 427 608 people (more than half of the total population) shows, that around 47 050 or 3.3 % of involved population is disabled. From them 24 % have visual problems, 15 % have speech/hearing difficulties, 15 % have impairment to movement, 6 % have convulsions,

4 % have mental illness, 10 % have intellectual disorder and remained 26 % have multiple types of disabilities. Out of these persons with disability, 13% are children below 5 years and 12 % are children of 6-15 years, while 75 % of disabled persons are adults.

There are over 34 000 school age disabled children. Only 36.8% of them have access to school education, either special or regular (**).

  • * 900 000 people considered to be poor (National statistics, 2000)
  • ** According to the data of Ministry of Enlightenment, 1998

B. Overviews of the life of PWDs in your country

B-1. The disabled people in Mongolia are belonging to the poorest and most vulnerable group of the society. After transition to the market economy and budget cuts for health, social welfare and education services, all disabled people faced a huge variety of problems, having a very limited capacity for competency in a free market system. Due to the growing inflation rate, the social subsidy equal to 13 800 ? 17 600 Tog (*) in a month cannot cover even most essential needs, such as payment for the house rent, heating (**) and food. An estimated 88 % of disabled people live in poverty, as compared to 36 % of the population as a whole. It is really difficult to describe all the difficulties and sufferings of the disabled people in our country, especially those who have severe moving problems and blindness. Most of them just pass day after the day, trying to survive with the small amount of money given as a social allowance. Very few existing laws and legislation practically are not implementing fully.

  • * Cur. Equivalent as of August 1st, 2002: Cur.unit - Tugrug (TUG), $1.00=1101 TUG
  • ** Mongolia has only 100 frost-free days in a year

B - 2. Compulsory primary and secondary school education system have weakened since transition period, and the disabled children are forming a visible part of the school dropouts. Especially in a rural countryside the disabled child have a very limited access to the education. Depending of their physical and mental capacity disabled children very often not able to stay at the dormitory of the school during the training semesters (*). Without having a basic educational background, they cannot study further to obtain a qualification, and therefore they stay unemployed. And, a big barrier occurs is that the college and university education is not free anymore. Very few special schools existing

for children with hearing /speaking disabilities and mental retardation. And these very few schools are located in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar. Just one of those schools offers classes for the blind children. Many families are even not aware of the possibility of special needs education for their disabled child, or if aware cannot afford all the expenses for stay in the city.

* Due to the nomadic style of living of cattle-breeders, their children have to stay at the dormitories of schools during the training semesters.

B - 3 Of an estimated 39700 people capable of working, 87 % are unemployed. During the communist era governmental policy stressed the segregation of the disabled persons. "Sheltered" employment facilities exclusively for the disabled persons were established. Education and training were provided also separately. After the transition to the market economy this system proved its unsustainability. However no new comprehensive policies have yet been introduced. There is almost no opportunity for the disabled to receive a loan to run own business.

Barrier-free access to buildings, special environment for the disabled and vocational rehabilitation are the main concepts to be considered and developed. List of qualifications available to obtain for the disabled is short consisting mainly of traditional qualifications, and cannot satisfy present market needs. The Labor Law, amended in 1999 for the benefit of the disabled, is on its early stage of implementation (*). Organizations, which employ disabled people, are not ready to provide all the necessary conditions for work (**). The only existing Vocational Training Center at the National Rehabilitation Center provides some professional training, including classes for sewing, carpentry, carpet-waiving, newly opened classes for cosmetologists and hair-dressers (capacity 120 students per year).

* Paragraph 111 of the amended Labor Law specifically targets the employment of the disabled. Institutions with more than 50 employees are required to have a workforce made up at least 3 % PWDs. Those who fail to meet this minimum standard must pay a tax in lieu of every PWD that should have been hired to reach the minimum.

** According to the recent studies of the State Central Employment Office, there are 708 institutions in Mongolia with 50 or more employees, mainly state owned organizations. The budgets of state organizations do not provide for payment of this tax. As a result the enterprises are unable to pay the tax if/when is levied.

B- 4 Rehabilitation services are centralized at the capital city of Ulaanbaatar. Disabled people from rural areas often can't receive them at all due to the financial difficulties connected to transportation. Many of them cannot afford payment for the prosthetic-orthopedic appliances. One can use his prosthesis for 10 years without repair and replacement (*). Lack of specialists such as physical and occupational therapists negatively affects further daily lives of the disabled.

* According to the Social Welfare Law of Mongolia, the disabled person can receive the prosthetic-orthopedic aid free of charge only once during a lifetime

B - 5 NGOs have been active in Mongolia for less than 10 years. Nevertheless, today NGOs are an important part of the social and political structure of the country. NGOs very successfully complement government provision of social services to the vulnerable people of Mongolia. There are around 50 NGOs of/for the disabled registered with the Ministry of Justice. 35 of them have united and established the Central Council of Mongolian DPOs. From the most active NGOs are "Association to Protect the Rights of the Children with CP", Blind Association of Mongolia located within state run Occupational Enterprise for the Blind, Mongolian Association of the Disabled Women, "Tegsh Duuren" with its long history of cooperation with AIFO, "Tahilt" Rehabilitation Center for the Traditional Medicine and "Saikhan Setgel" both sponsored by the Japanese Government. These few organizations have benefited a lot from the international cooperation, improved their managerial and communication skills, and did a lot of contribution to improve the living of the disabled of Mongolia. Most of the NGOs have no own office, and their corresponding address belongs to individuals. They are lacking of professional people, who can advise on advocacy, management, and develop international cooperation. Due to financial problems, for the majority of Mongolian NGOs, most of the work is done through the volunteers.

Many of the NGOs have no certain objectives and goals, which in turn creates difficulties to maintain united policy, to collaborate with the Government and international organizations. Most of the NGOs of/for the disabled are located in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, and rarely reach countryside people. Some of the NGOs are working just for private interest, which bring strong negative influence on our disabled people.

NGOs of/for the disabled are located in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, and rarely reach countryside people. Some of the NGOs are working just for private interest, which bring strong negative influence on our disabled people.
Concerning the management of donations, aids and loans, provided by the international organizations to improve lives of the disabled of Mongolia, often priority in implementation is given to the governmental organizations. As a result, they spend the given resources following political interest, presenting at the end accurate report of implementation.

C. Current priorities among disability policies and estimate budget for PWDs

C-1. Five major achievements of the Mongolian Government for Disabled Persons from the inception of the Decade in 1993 up to present.

  1. In accordance with the request of the Government of Mongolia to the WHO to provide support in improving measures for the disabled, WHO together with AIFO, Italian NGO have organized a joint site visit after what it was decided to start CBR program in Mongolia. Main project areas covered almost half of the country. Several specialists in rehabilitation field were trained abroad. These people in turn have organized CBR training for family doctors, feldshers, teachers, volunteers and social workers. Main activities of the project are training of medical and social workers, program on inclusive education, translation and publication of books and training manuals and income generation activities. The implementation of the program was evaluated as a rare unique situation for CBR programming. "Over the last decade the country has been able to identify and devote significant political will towards improving the situation of the disabled persons in some parts of Mongolia. However the lack of infrastructure, scattered nomadic population and severe climate were main obstacles for successful implementation of the project. At the same time difficulties of monitoring make it difficult to assess the real coverage in terms of access, acceptability and impact on the lives of disabled persons in rural areas." (*)

  2. In 1993 the Government of Mongolia provided an order to provide a 3 store building (which used to belong to the former Soviet Union military camp), part of the 5 store building and storage place for the disabled. With the help of the Government, the Embassy of USA in Mongolia agreed to donate 13,5 mln tugrugs for the connecting Manoj Sharma, Associate Professor, School of Health, Physical Education & Recreation, University of Nebraska at Ohama; Sunil Deepak, Chief, Medical Support Department, Associazone Italiana Amici di Raoul Follereau (AIFO),those buildings to the central heating and electricity. Unfortunately, this project was not finished, and funds disappeared in the network of administration.

  3. Approval of the National Program on Improving the Quality of Life of the Disabled persons in 1998 and action plan for 1998-2004 to implement the program

  4. Approval of the Social Security Law for PWDs, 1997 where special conditions for the disabled were stated. As a result, there is an improvement of the governmental measures for the disabled.

  5. The establishment of the National Rehabilitation Center for the Disabled in the city of Ulaanbaatar, 1999. The National Rehabilitation Center for the Disabled of Mongolia consists of Prosthetic Workshop, Department of Medical Rehabilitation and Vocational Training Center is the only one existing governmental organization, which provides rehabilitation on the national level for all the disabled people of Mongolia. Above-mentioned services are provided free of charge for the disabled, through the close connection with the health and social insurance. Disabled people became able to acquire a qualification at the Vocational Training Center if this organization. The establishment of center is significant in terms of the national commitment and political will to work for the cause of the PWDs.

  6. Approval of the Amendment to the Labor Law of Mongolia and Government Regulation No.137 for the implementation of the program (please refer to the page 3)

  7. The year of 2001 was declared by the Mongolian Government as an Year for the Support of the Disabled. Whole program of different activities was carried out during this year. Special emphasis was on raising the public awareness of the people regarding the disability issues.

* A case study report of the CBR program in Mongolia, 2001

C - 2 The most influential news or incidents for the Mongolian people with disability and nations as well in Mongolia concerning disability during this decade

  1. For the first time in our history, the disabled people of Mongolia criticized current policy of the Government towards them, and established "Special Committee on Protecting the Rights of the Disabled People". We organized a strike near the Statue of for the Memory of Repressed (the statue was built for the memory of the people, suffered and died during communist repression), and presented out declaration to the Parliament, Government and President of Mongolia. We consider this as an historical event. The Government of Mongolia, the President and Prime Minister of Mongolia organized a meeting with the representatives of the disabled, and listened to our opinions. Our struggle continued almost for 4 months from June 18th, 1998 to October 3rd, 1998. Finally the Government of Mongolia understood, that they have to listen to us and consider our opinions. They saw, that our disabled people have improved their intellectual, social and political knowledge. And the disabled people of Mongolia saw, that they should and they can to protect their own rights.

  2. With the help Mongolian famous poet T.Galsan, genuine composer N.Jantsannorov and popular singer Dashpeljee we have got our own Song, Flag and Emblem. We could make our voices to be heard, and our "intellectual property" to be seen. DPOs of the disabled have come to solidarity, and established a Central Council of DPOs. The Central Council serves as an umbrella organization for all DPOs of disabled people of Mongolia. As a result, we became able to represent the disabled people from all over the country, introduce the information about their current situation and faced problems directly to the Government, and keep a permanent relationship between the Government and DPOs. The Central Council became a main corresponding organization to receive support and encouragement from related organizations inside the country and abroad. The Central Council of DPOs established own branches all over the country, covering its 21 provinces. As a result, disabled people in countryside receive up-to-date and true information about current events and policies of the Government.

  3. We almost finished the legislative basis for conducting the driver courses for the disabled people. Providing the equal opportunities for the disabled to acquire needed knowledge and qualification, we are aiming to implement the 48th Regulation of UN General Assembly.

  4. In 1st of December, 2000 the representatives from Central Council of the Disabled asked the President of Mongolia N.Bagabandi to meet and to listen our opinions. In result, the year of 2001 was declared by the Mongolian Government as an Year for the Support of the Disabled. During this year, many activities involving different DPOs were carried out. Disabled people of Mongolia established own newspaper office, named "Humuun Zaya" (Human destiny). Disabled people, including those with visual and hearing disabilities organized a "Khatan Zorig-Enerehuu" ("Bravity and Humanity") hiking tour, and traveled 240 km. The tour was designated to raise a public awareness about the existing social welfare services and laws for the disabled, and also to clean the environment. Also, the exhibition named "We can do it" was organized to display hand and machine made goods, grafts and accessories, produced by the disabled people in cities and countryside. The disabled person was awarded by the State Award.

  5. With the help of Japanese Government, the Asian Development Bank decided to provide fund equal to 1,0 mln. USD to improve the lives of the disabled. Unfortunately, this fund will be distributed for projects through the government and ministries. This fact leaves us in a wonder and worry.

  6. The fact, that the Asian-Pacific decade for the Disabled is extended further, gives us a hope to reach grandiose success in the next decade and to correct mistakes we have done before.

    C- 3 How many people on our country aware of the existence of this decade?

    During the 2001, declared by Government of Mongolia as the Year for the Support of the Disabled, almost 100 % of the disabled people learnt about the existence of this decade, and also that this decade is going to finish soon. Before only 35-40 % were aware about this decade (mainly within governmental organizations).

    C - 4 How many people do you estimate know the UN`s Declaration of Disabled People of 1975?

    Mongolian DPOs carried out the propaganda of this declaration very insufficiently, so that almost 30 % of disabled people don't know at all, and only 10 % are aware about the declaration.

    C- 5 Do you have an official translation into your language of the above-mentioned declaration.

    The declaration was translated into Mongolian.

    D. The five top priority measures for PWDs for the next decade

    1. In order to involve all 9 city districts, 21 provinces with 331 soumons (*) altogether, we are planning to organize a National Assembly of the disabled people of Mongolia. Representatives from all over the country, enthusiastic and trustworthy disabled people would come and join own ideas and opinions. We also would like to invite experienced people from other countries to attend the Assembly, and share their own ideas and experiences.

      We are planning to organize this Assembly for 5 days and discuss following important issues:

      • Discussion about existing governmental policy for the disabled, ways to improve it
      • Discussion of ways to improve existing legislation for the benefit of the disabled. We would like to find out the way to push the government to improve and amend laws on social welfare, official taxation, and NGOs. There must be provided a special law, designated for the disabled only.
      • Discussion about survey on disability, the way of doing it in our country
      • Discussion regarding the organization and structure of disability related system, services and DPOs
      • Working out the master plan for the next 10 years of action for the disabled
      • Discuss the possibility to nominate the disabled people's representatives as full-time staff to work for the disabled in designated areas.

      We need to have a comprehensive survey of the current disability situation in Mongolia. Existing surveys on disabilities are partially covering all the important topics, focusing more on one or another point, such as medical or social conditions. Regarding the survey, we are planning to divide 21 provinces of Mongolia into 5 regions, and carry out detailed survey on disability:

      1. Rural region, center- Hovd province
      2. Hangai region, center - Arkhangai province
      3. Desert region, center - Dundgobi region
      4. Steppe region, center - Dornod province
      5. Central region, center - capital city of Ulaanbaatar

      We think, that it is important to organize this event as much as possible independent from the Government in terms of financing (estimated budget for assembly is 85 000 USD; includes transportation, accommodation and living expenses for the participants).

      The assembly would play a significant role in proposing amendments and improvements in existing Social Welfare laws and legislation.

    2. There is no any person in the Government, whom we can trust and who would understand our sufferings, our living conditions and work for the benefit of disabled of Mongolia. Because of this, the existing laws for the disabled never implemented in the practice, or they just do not suit reality. To improve this situation, we need to establish own "Lobby group" in the Government. We are planning to select candidatures to the Parliament from the people who have special program plans towards the disabled, and struggle for the success of their election.

    3. We need to strengthen Mongolian DPOs in terms of financial management, administration, advocacy capacity and communication skills, enrich the composition of staff by involving professional people. We need to provide international and domestic training for the staff and volunteers of the DPOs in order to broaden of their knowledge about disability, learn about the world level situation, successful experiences and lives of the disabled in other places. We need to increase public awareness among the disabled people about DPOs activities. We will work towards gaining recognition of necessity to improve lives of our disabled people in this hard for all of us time.

    4. To improve vocational rehabilitation system for the disabled of Mongolia:

      • To increase opportunities for the disabled to acquire a qualification, improve choice of qualifications available
      • To make efficient the existing laws on labor of the disabled
      • To provide comprehensive vocational training combined with vocational consultation, guidance, and exc.
      • To establish system which promotes understanding of employers of the special needs of the disabled, and willingness to go towards meeting needed requirements

    5. In order to raise public awareness, information outreach for the disabled, we need to strengthen financial and managerial capacity of the newspaper "Humuun zaya" ("Human destiny") for the disabled, and to support its regular publication. This newspaper is designated to bring the voices of the disabled people to the government.

    6. Improve lives of the blind

      • To increase opportunities to acquire a qualification
      • To provide a list of qualifications, which only blind people would be entitled to acquire
      • Every year on 15th of October, the Day for the Support of the Blind to organize a public awareness programs, involving media too (organize press-conference)
      • To introduce microprojects worked out by blind people to the international charity organizations of the disabled in other places.
      • To develop cultural exchange between our and foreign similar organizations, to
      • To carry out cultural and sport activities for the blind

      To establish a library for the blind with Braille printer, special scanner and computing systems, books on Braille

      * Mongolia is administratively divided to 21 provinces which are divided to soumons (altogether 331 somouns)

    E. Needed area for international cooperation

    Since democracy revolution of 1990 our country became more open to the international cooperation. This also refers to our NGOs of/for the disabled. At present very few such a NGOs could benefit from the international experience. Lack of trained staff and up-to-date information, lack of advocacy and communication skills were main barriers for the poor international cooperation. Nevertheless, membership of our state organization in Rehabilitation International, membership of our Blind Association in the World Association of the Blind and other memberships give us a hope for further development. We consider the international cooperation very important in the areas of the advocacy, legislation, Vocational Rehabilitation (employment of the disabled, credit/loan funds for disabled), Medical Rehabilitation (physical and occupational therapy, prosthetic-orthopedic aids) and international exchange.