ADRA Mongolia Helps Dzud Victims with Food Relief
More than half of Mongolian provinces had been declared disaster areas as the severe cold weather and heavy snow further isolate herders and poor communities, cutting them off from food, fuel, medicines and a supply of warm clothing and boots.
According to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), 65 soums (towns) of 12 aimags (provinces) are declared as the disaster area, 68 soums of 11 aimags have suffered from the dzud and 118 soums of 17 of aimags are severely affected by the harsh winter. Some aimags have been affected aimag-wide, whereas in others only a few of the soums are impacted, although very heavily. 90% of the provinces are under snow: 30% area covered with 30-40 cm of snow, 30% area with 20-30 cm snow, and the rest is under 1-15 cm snow. The extreme cold causes the snow to form an in-penetratable layer of ice that animals are unable to feed. As a result the Ministry of Food Agriculture and Light Industry reported that 2.2 million livestock had perished. Most roads linking soums are blocked, access to populations living in remote areas is very complicated and food and fuel security as well as access to medical facilities are at risk. 212,353 persons make up the herder population in the most affected areas - out of which 60,000 are children, 12,800 are elderly, 7,600 are disabled and 3,400 are pregnant women. NEMA has called particular attention to the more than 3,300 households representing more than 13,000 people that are in areas completely inaccessible due to blocked access routes. Within these provinces, the humanitarian impact of the Dzud on isolated herder families and poor families in inaccessible communities within the soums is worsening ADRA Mongolia responded with emergency food aid to 450 severely affected families of 1 week supply of food comprising of rice, flour, sugar, vegetable oil and salt to 7 soums of Zavkhan aimag. Distribution of relief goods where undertaken in collaboration with soum government officials and with the Seventh Day Adventist Church (SDA) volunteers from Ulaistai City, Zavkhan aimag.
