Download Mongolia’s UNESCAP Media  Project for 2012 Using data and interviews for  effective newspaper articles.

Mongolia’s UNESCAP Media Project for 2012
Using data and interviews for effective newspaper articles.
Mongolia’s GDP
• Mongolia grew the fastest in GDP in all of Asia according to the World Bank Report for 2011, growing 17%. Is this development is benefitting our society equally and sustainably? Are there more jobs? Unemployment Rate
• According to the World Bank Report for 2011, unemployment went down from 13% in 2010 to 9% in 2011. However, inflation has gone up, so the money people earn has less value. And what jobs are being created from mining?
Mongolia’s Poverty
• Mongolia has high rates of poverty—from 36% since 1996 even though the economy has grown quickly. Now the rate is estimated to be 40%, according to the UNDP report on Mongolia for 2012‐2016 and the National Statistical Office of Mongolia (NSO). The report says that Mongolia has too narrow an area for economic growth. Mining Does Not Help Everyone
• The jobs created from Mongolia’s rapid economic growth are mostly through mining, which not many people can benefit from. Can herders—a big part of the history of Mongolia—benefit from mining? Not if their products are not connected to the growth of the mining sector.
Mongolia’s Women
• Are women benefiting from the country’s growth? According to the UNDP report and the Inter‐Parliamentary Union report, in Mongolia only 3.9% of women made up the parliament from 2008‐2012. When funding was decided by parliament during this high development period in 2011, only 3.9% of parliament was represented by women to decide this important issue. This is an example of inequality in gender. Mining Cash Handout
• For example, the previous parliament decided that 800 billion MNT should be given out to all Mongolians from the Human Development Fund which comes from mining. Because of this, every month 21,000 MNT was given out to every Mongolian. Was this the best decision? Kindergartens
• Mongolia doesn’t have enough kindergartens to educate our children. In the poorer parts of Ulaanbaatar (our ger districts) only about 50% of the children are able to get registered for kindergarten, according to MP Erdenechimeg—
the new leader of the Women’s Caucus in Mongolia’s parliament. The funding necessary to build enough kindergartens is estimated to be 400 billion MNT but the previous parliament did not think this was an important issue. Kindergartens is considered a “women’s issue” by men. Maternity Hospitals
• Mongolia does not have enough maternity hospitals. MP Erdenchimeg said that 50% of women going to a hospital to give birth in ger districts are sent home because there are not enough hospital beds. Ger districts make up 60% of Ulaanbaatar’s population. Unsustainable Development
• This mining money could have gone to build kindergarten and hospitals and to hire more teachers and doctors. Ulaanbaatar’s infrastructure is meant for 600,000 people but 1.3 million people live there now. People have moved to the city from the countryside over recent years. We need more hospitals and kindergartens. We need more teachers and doctors.
Gender Inequality
• About 80 percent of teachers and doctors are women. Men don’t want to do this work because it is “women’s work” and the pay is very low. This is also an example of gender inequality. These jobs are not seen as important by men so the pay is low. If there are not enough teachers and doctors, this problem affects all Mongolians.
20% Quota for Women in Parliament
• In 2012, nine women were elected to the new Parliament—up from three women in the previous parliament out of 76 seats—an increase 3.9% to 12%. The National Law on Gender Equality created in 2011 started a 20% quota for women in parliament. The nine women have formed a political faction called the Women’s Caucus. They have decided to focus on getting the government to create more funding for kindergartens and maternity hospitals
Increasing Population Needs Infrastructure
• The Mongolian government has decided that increasing the population of Mongolia is one of its highest priorities. But if more women are giving birth and raising children but have no place to give birth and cannot register their children, then this is not sustainable development. The Role of Media
• By showing Mongolia’s development through statistical information, people working in media can show politicians and our readers, that these issues are important. The UB Post recently published a story about the hospital and kindergarten problem for UNESCAP. This story was called: Mongolia: Breaking the Binds of Gender Inequality. Thank You for Your Time!