As of 2016 children made up approximately 29.3 perc cent of the population of Mongolia. In 2005, the Government of Mongolia launched the Child Money Programme (CMP), with the aim to contribute to the reduction of poverty and inequality and improve the well-being of all children. The Ministry of Social Welfare and Labour administers the unconditional cash transfer with funds accumulated entirely from mineral resource taxes, redistributing wealth from the mining sector across the population.
The CMP was launched as a conditional cash transfer that targeted those living in poverty in 2005. In 2010 the programme was opened to all children under 18 years of age, conditional upon school enrolment and in 2012 all conditions were removed. Upon inception, the CMP provided a monthly cash allowance of MNT3,000, which increased to MNT20,000, (approximately USD10) in 2012. By the end of 2015 more than one million children, or nearly 100 per cent of all children in Mongolia, received the monthly benefit, making it the most inclusive child benefit in the region. Unfortunately, under pressure from international financial institutions, changes to the CMP were announced in 2018 that will scale the programme back to its earlier targeted approach, excluding some children and not others.
The universal CMP represents a determined effort to protect the rights of children in Mongolia and has resulted in substantial gains in access to education, enrolment rates and children’s health. Nonetheless, barriers to access remain for children of migrants, who are not eligible for the scheme. Rather than scaling back, the scheme should be opened to all, including the children of migrants. Despite the set-back, the Government of Mongolia is a leading example of financing and building inclusive social protection for children in the region.
References:
http://www.ilo.org/beijing/what-we-do/publications/WCMS_534930/lang--en/index.htm