Health

Uuganbayar -Ulaanbaatar province: as of January 2011

Uuganbayar is a governor of the 5^th sub district in Han-Uul district, Ulaanbaatar and supports ADRA Mongolia HEAT project actively.

There are many shops, schools, kindergartens and other service organizations around the Han-Uul sub district office. During class breaks from school, it used to be very common for high school students to buy cigarettes in nearby shops.  In April 2009, in an effort to decrease smoking among young people, Governor Uuganbayar’s sub district office issued a resolution to ban the sale of cigarettes to minors based on the national law on tobacco control. Following this action, Uuganbayar organized anti-tobacco promotion activities amongst the sub district communities and business organizations.  Volunteers separately organized meetings with approximately 40 to 45 residents in each of the streets to promote the sub district’s resolutions and tobacco control regulations.

Since September 2009, the sub district governor has organized over 40 meetings to discuss the sub district’s related issues with community members as well as local businesses.  At the initial meeting with the shop owners, there was strong resistance from the shop owners with regards to the sale of tobacco and the implementation of the local anti-tobacco resolutions. However, after several meetings, the attitudes of the shop owners began to gradually change.  Over time, local community members, peer educators and volunteers began to influence the local shop owners to stop distributing tobacco related products to young people.  With the help and influence of these local community members, as well as the guidance of Governor Uuganbayar, 27 of the local 28 shops and supermarkets in Han-Uul district have stopped the sale of tobacco related products to young people.