The first international UN Volunteer in Mongolia was recruited in 1987, and 155 international UN Volunteers have served in Mongolia since then (including the incumbent UNV Programme Officer as International UN Volunteer herself). They came from 34 different countries around the world.

 

The first national UN Volunteer in Mongolia was recruited in 1995, and 153 national UN Volunteers have served since then. The number of national UN Volunteers peaked in the late 1990s, due to the Decentralization and Democracy Support Project. It increased again in the late 2000s, due to the STI & HIV/AIDS Prevention among Vulnerable Groups in Ulaanbaatar Mongolia Project. As of April 2011, there are no national UN Volunteers serving in Mongolia. 

 

                  

 

The first Mongolian UN Volunteer that served abroad was recruited in 1995, and 23 Mongolians have served as international UN Volunteers since then (including 3 volunteers that are serving as of April 2011 in Afghanistan, DR Congo, and Timor Leste). They served in 14 different countries around the world.

 

 

STI & HIV/AIDS Prevention among Vulnerable Groups in Ulaanbaatar Mongolia

The STI & HIV/AIDS Prevention among Vulnerable Groups in Ulaanbaatar Mongolia project was a two-year project funded by the Japan Trust Fund. 

 

Mongolia is classified as a STI low-prevalence country, according to World Health Organization (WHO). However, National Health Indicators for 2003 showed that the numbers of reported cases of STIs (Gonorrhea and Syphilis) in Mongolia were on the rise. In 1998, 35.9% of all reported infectious diseases were related to STIs. In 2002 it was 42.2%, and in 2003, it went up to 43.3%. 

 

The National Human Development Report (NHDR) in 2003 made reference to the increasing number of STIs throughout the country: "Between 1991 and 2002, the incidence of syphilis increased from 3.7 to 6.7 per 10,000 populations. The incidence of gonorrhea increased from 9.4 to 19.6 per 10,000 populations." 

 

Although the HIV/AIDS pandemic has not spread widely in Mongolia, the risk environment is increasing, due to a number of predisposing factors such as its common borders with countries with high rates of infection, and the active trade and economic activities and movement of people. About 50% of the population of Mongolia is below the age of 23, which makes sexually active youth the most vulnerable. However, the messages on HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness in Mongolia were not tailored sufficiently to target the youth and sex workers in Ulaanbaatar. 

 

In order to address the above challenges, the project focused its efforts on building and strengthening existing initiatives of NGOs, especially those working with youths and HIV/AIDS issues. 

 

The main goal of this project was to reduce risky sexual behavior among youth and sex workers by developing programs that addressed issues of STI & HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness. 

 

The specific objectives of the project were: 

1. Reduce risky sexual behavior among youth, including out of school youth, by developing programs that address issues of prevention

2. Establish a community-based sex workers' organization responsible for promoting STI & HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness within the sex worker's community

 

This was done by supporting the creation of an enabling environment for the greater involvement of youths, sex workers, and NGOs that worked with volunteers to support the implementation of the National Strategy to respond to HIV/AIDS in Mongolia. This project contributed to achieving Millennium Development Goal (MDG) #6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases, and MDG #8: Developing a global partnership for development. 

 

The Ministry of Health was the main implementing partner, and it also worked closely with two NGOs. A participatory mechanism using local volunteers was one of the main strategies for conducting a comprehensive needs assessment analysis for the most effective approach, identifying partners, and gathering accurate baseline information. A mixed team of national and international UN Volunteers played a facilitating role as well as a catalyst role to achieve the project objectives.

 

The goal of this project was to develop the capacity of relevant organizations to use Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to raise awareness of STI/HIV/AIDS and to educate Mongolian youths, particularly those studying and working outside the country, to reduce their vulnerability to STI/HIV/AIDS. 

 

Through this project, Ms. M. Oyunchimeg worked as a National UN Volunteer. As a NUNV, Ms. Oyunchimeg was in charge of developing, pre-testing, producing and updating the youth-targeted website www.dotno.mn, coordinating and assisting the youth volunteer peer educators club, planning and implementing community events such as the launch and peer educator events, and much more.

 

The main objective of the website www.dotno.mn was to use ICT to reduce HIV vulnerability by raising awareness on STI/HIV/AIDS and educating the youth of Mongolia, particularly those studying and working outside the country. One measure of success of the ICT project was the number of visitors to www.dotno.mn. Since its launch on 9 April 2004 until September, 44,000 users had visited the website. 55% of users were from inside Mongolia, while 45% were from outside Mongolia, demonstrating that the project had reached its target audience of Mongolian youth at home and abroad. 

 

The monitoring and evaluation of the project has shown that Mongolian youth are finding www.dotno.mn to be a user-friendly site that is a much needed source of accurate information on sexual health. This website was awarded the "Best NGO website" in 2004.

Ms. Oyunchimeg. M.

 

The Cisco Networking Academy program is a comprehensive e-learning program which provides students with internet technology skills that are essential in a global economy. The Networking Academy program delivers web-based content, on-line assessment, student performance tracking, hands-on labs, instructor training and support, and preparation for industry-standard certifications. Launched in 1997, there are now over 10.000 Networking Academies in 148 countries. Over 265,000 students are enrolled in Academies in high schools, colleges and universities, technical schools, community-based organizations, and other educational programs around the world. 

 

The Networking Academy program is a powerful development tool, because it uses the internet and education, two great equalizers. The internet is capable of eliminating the geographic, socio-economic, racial, ethnic, and time boundaries that can limit access to education and advancement. E-learning is highly effective in reaching disadvantaged and at-risk communities worldwide. Through the gender initiative, Cisco and Cisco Learning Institute is working with partners to help increase female enrollment in the program by identifying best practices in female recruitment and retention, and also by establishing projects that create all-female academies or all-female classes. (Please visit http://gender.ciscolearning.org for more information.) 

 

The Networking Academy program teaches students a broad range of internet technology skills, from basic skills (such as how to build a network or a website), to more complex IT concepts (such as how to apply advanced troubleshooting tools). Combining instructor-led online education with hands-on laboratory exercises, the Networking Academy curriculum prepares students for lifelong opportunities in the real world. Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) coursework is the cornerstone of the Networking Academy curriculum. (Please visit www.cisco.com/edu/academy for more information.)

 

Bringing the Cisco Networking Academy program to developing countries has allowed students in developing countries the same educational opportunities that are currently being offered to students in other countries around the world. Providing a workforce with the skills to design, build and maintain the internet infrastructure is a critical step to increasing their participation in the global economy. This program contributes to sustainable development and accelerates a country's progression and full integration into the world economy. 

Mr. Tengis. T., National UN Volunteer for UNITeS/UNV Support to Cisco LDC Initiative

 

Under the EU Tacis City Twining programme, the City of Bonn established a partnership with the City of Ulaanbaatar for 18 months, starting in June 2001. The aim of this program was to support decentralized cooperation initiatives that provided technical assistance to disadvantaged communities in Ulaanbaatar. Under this initiative, city officials of Ulaanbaatar worked with city officials of Bonn, and attended various technical trainings and meetings in Bonn on city planning, land registration, and environmental management. Similarly, a training was held in Ulaanbaatar on the role of effective partnerships and local participation in sustainable development that focused on both the city population and the environment. 

 

The Bonn-Ulaanbaatar partnership was expanded to include a United Nations Volunteer - a young Mongolian woman from Ulaanbaatar, supported by the City of Bonn. The UN Volunteer conducted participatory training for the citizens of one poor neighbourhood in Ulaanbaatar, with the aim to establish a development plan specifically designed to encourage and support self-help initiatives. The UN Volunteer's grassroots, peer-to-peer, and participatory approach was successful for both the City of Ulaanbaatar and the people of the small community. With the help of the UN Volunteer, the City of Ulaanbaatar had access to reliable information collected through a participatory process by the local community itself. This information facilitated the identification of local needs and local solutions for further development. 

 

The UN Volunteer also mobilized additional local resources, such as partnerships with World Vision International. With these additional resources, the City of Ulaanbaatar opened a kindergarten for 100 children for which it provided land, while World Vision covered the administrative and other costs. 

 

A similar breakthrough of the UN Volunteer during her 18 months assignment was the establishment of an effective network of local NGOs to provide skills development training to unemployed youth. For example, an NGO called "City Women's Council" provided low-interest loans for skilled young women to run small-to-medium sized businesses. 

 

The EU Tacis City Twinning programme has demonstrated that participatory cooperation, experience sharing, and networking is key to strengthening partnerships and development initiatives at the local level. 

Ms. Mongonduulga D., National UN Volunteer for the City of Ulaanbaatar 

 

The joint project on "Strengthening Local Volunteering Initiatives" was conceived in 2001, the International Year of the Volunteers, as a response to the growing recognition of the need to make a concerted effort to further strengthen and promote local volunteering activities and initiatives in Mongolia. The joint project aimed to strengthen the network of volunteer-involving organizations and support local volunteering initiatives in Mongolia. 

 

The project was funded by international organizations including: Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), German Development Service (DED), United Nations Volunteers (UNV), and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The project was implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare as well as local volunteer-involving NGOs including: Mongolian Red Cross Society (MRCS), Mongolian Youth Development Center (MYDC), Mongolian Youth Federation (MYF) and AIFO-Community Based Rehabilitation Center. 

Ms. Bulgan. B., National UN Volunteer for Strengthening Local Volunteering Initiatives Project

 

This project contributed to the National Household Livelihood Capacity Support Programme (NHLCSP), Mongolia's second poverty reduction programme. It also complemented and added value to UNDP interventions that were formulated under the overarching framework of the Government's "Good Governance for Human Security Programme", with its four components of economic transition, equity and social policy, environment and sustainable development, and sound governance. 

 

The two objectives of the project were: 1) Strengthen the capacity of government agencies and civil society to gather, analyze, and monitor social indicators; and to review public policies, budgets, and programmes that impact people's well-being. 2) Strengthen the capacity of local government to manage poverty reduction programmes and monitor the delivery of their benefits. This project also aimed to provide catalytic resources to build capacity for the achievement of the Mongolian Government and UN mandates on poverty reduction.

Ms. Altantuya S., National UN Volunteer for the Business Development Service Project