Remote but connected

The journey to Munkhsuren Ganbaatar’s house is an adventure.

Across the frozen steppes, at the end of a rocky path and about five hours away from the capital Ulaanbaatar, her family’s white ger (a traditional Mongolian yurt) stands in stark contrast with the dark brown color of the late-autumn soil. 

Inside the ger, Munkhsuren carefully tends to the wood stove and sets out breakfast for her four children. She is sturdy and efficient, helping her eldest three children with their school uniforms, then tidying up and converting the beds back into sofas. Her husband, already clad in the thick tunic and boots he wears to tend their goats, helps wake their youngest daughter. At just 2 years of age, she gets up sleepy-eyed and yawning. 

Like a third of Mongolia’s population of 3.4 million, Munkhsuren and her family are nomadic herders, who traditionally move on to new pastures every few months, or whenever needed. They are used to the cold and the distance. During winter, temperatures can drop to -40 degrees celsius and the family is often stuck, waiting out illnesses like colds and the seasonal flu, and hoping for the best.  

Many nomads in Mongolia have faced similar situations. While the rough winters cause a spike in sickness, healthcare can be hard to come by. The lack of roads, electricity, and telecommunications in Mongolia’s remote regions makes it hard to establish and maintain health facilities, and it’s difficult to attract trained doctors and nurses far outside the capital. That’s why digital solutions bring hope. 

For Munkhsuren, getting consistent access and information about healthcare hasn’t always been straightforward, especially during the winter time.

 “For me, living in the countryside was fine. It only became difficult in the wintertime when we needed to see the doctor. We travel by motorbike and this can be very unpredictable and time consuming when the weather is very cold.” 

That’s why, a year ago, she and her husband made the decision to move closer to Erdene Sum, a  small town that feels lively, with cars on the nearby highway zooming past its school and its gleaming, newly renovated health centre. 

The prospect of better healthcare and education for their children was a key factor in the family’s decision to relocate.  “Health is the most important thing for all of us,” she says. “You can only live a full life if you are healthy.”

Digital tools bring hope  

It’s an attitude that the Government of Mongolia shares. “How can healthcare services be provided to remote provinces and citizens living far from central areas?” asks Tseren-Ochir, a senior specialist at the Ministry of Health. 

The ministry acknowledges the challenges inherent in providing health services to a nomadic population and has recently started turning to digital tools to better support citizens like Munkhsuren. “This [digital tools] helps save citizens money, time, and the effort involved in traveling long distances.”

In 2020, the eMongolia app was rolled out and quickly became indispensable to citizens like Munkhsuren.  Now, Mongolians can book appointments, seek consultations, access their medical records and test results online, in addition to finding critical information about their health-related questions. Traveling far just to book an appointment and access critical information is a thing of the past. 

“It provides faster and easier access to health services. If there’s a problem, people can visit eMongolia to view all the information without traveling to the hospital or health clinic,” she says. 

For families like Munkhsuren’s , one of eMongolia’s prominent features is the digitized Maternal and Child Health Book (otherwise known as the pink book). This digital initiative was developed by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Digital Development in collaboration with UNICEF and with support from the Government of Japan. UNICEF also helped train healthcare workers in using the app.

For Munkhsuren, the Digital Maternal and Child Health Book feature is a game-changer. Previously this was a pink paper booklet with handwritten notes recording key information like vaccinations, heights and weights of children. Although she’s managed to hold onto the booklet that belonged to one of her older children, its crinkled pages and frayed edges is a testament to the many times it’s been diligently packed and unpacked. 

“This is a reliable solution to the paper forms we used to rely on. Herders in rural areas of Mongolia often lose them (pink book) while migrating or even returning from the hospital clinics. If it goes digital, the archive will be created, preserved and will last for a long time – removing the burden from families and mothers,” says Tuvshintamir Munkhbayar, the Head of the Erdene Sum Health Center. “It saves time, allowing us to focus on other patient-related activities.”

For Munkhsuren’s youngest child, there’s no paper booklet to keep track of, and no risk that key information will be lost. It’s all housed securely within the eMongolia app. 

Sitting at her table with a cup of milk tea, she receives a phone notification that it’s time for her daughter’s immunization appointment. “Now, with eMongolia, the process is easier and simpler to check,” she says.  “We don’t have to worry about where to go or what to do. The information comes directly to our phones.” 

For Munkhsuren, health is key to her children’s future. “I just want them to grow into a good person. I believe that as long as people are healthy, all their dreams can come true.”