FAO/GIEWS - Foodcrops & Shortages 02/01 - MONGOLIA* (5 February)
Following the worst winter in decades last year, which seriously undermined the food security of large numbers of people especially nomadic herders, this year again the country faces a devastating winter which will greatly exacerbate food supply problems. Thick snow has blanketed pastures on which herds usually feed in winter and temperatures have fallen to as low as minus 50 Celsius. Already the conditions have killed eight herders and about 500 000 animals, on which a third of the population rely entirely for their livelihood and income. Due to the conditions, there are also considerable problems in transporting food and medical supplies to areas where the population is particularly vulnerable to food shortages. The cold winter also comes on top of a summer drought which reduced the fodder crop for animals. The conditions are expected to deteriorate further as the winter progresses. An urgent UN appeal was made in January for international assistance to the country.
The impact of another cold winter and reduced fodder supplies on livestock will be of immense importance. The sector plays an extremely important part in the economy providing the main source of household income and contributing a major source of foreign exchange. The heavy loss of livestock and the consequent reduction in meat supplies, have also meant that there has been a large increase (up to 40 percent) in livestock prices. This is turn has had a knock-on effect on inflation and the cost of living further exacerbating the food security of the poor and vulnerable groups. In addition to meat there is also serious shortage of milk, especially in rural areas, further restricting an important source of protein and nutrients in the diet. It has also been very difficult for nomadic herd families to find alternative sources of income, as most are poorly educated and trained for alternative employment. Nonetheless many have migrated to towns and urban centres compounding existing problems of unemployment and vulnerability to food shortages.
Current food shortages, follow several years in which nutritional standards in he country have been falling due to significant changes in economic circumstance of large sectors of the population as the economy has been reoriented from one which was centrally planned to one which is market driven. This in particular has left many groups who were formally dependent on state employment and welfare exposed to economic uncertainties due to limited alternative earning potential. Various reports in the mid 1990s indicated that those most affected by poverty and food insecurity, included the unemployed, the elderly, female headed households, children, pensioners and small herders. Recent studies by NGOs report high levels of chronic malnutrition persist in a number of nomadic areas, with many families living in extreme poverty with almost no resources.
A UN interagency Mission, including FAO, visited Mongolia in January to appraise the situation and has launched an appeal for emergency relief. The focus of the UN appeal would be on vulnerable populations in the most severely affected provinces and on building the disaster management and co- ordination capacity of the State Emergency Commission (SEC) and other relevant national partners to enhance preparedness and future response. The appeal covers a period of four months, from 1 February to 31 May 2001 and is for US$7 million in cash and US$4.7 million in kind to assist beneficiaries in 73 affected counties. The appeal will focus assistance on the following sectors: livestock (US$4 million in cash and US$4.7 million kind, health, water and sanitation US$2.3 million and nutrition US$608 000.
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