With the initiative of the Ministry of Health of Mongolia and the National Gerontology Center, WHO has mobilized 160 million MNT and launched a joint project to introduce community-based integrated care and support to the most vulnerable group of older people in the country’s capital Ulaanbaatar during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the new normal. The city is home to 50% of the older population aged 65 and above, and 6,985 or 7% of whom are categorized in IV and V health groups making them the most vulnerable group of older people.
As part of the effort to deliver uninterrupted essential healthcare services to older people, especially to the most vulnerable groups, during the COVID-19 pandemic, 121 community volunteers have been trained in collaboration with the Mongolian Association of Elderly People as caregivers to conduct health check-up and provide counselling to older people both at home and nursing facilities. They will work together with a multi-disciplinary team of the National Gerontology Center, family health doctors and nurses, and this arrangement inevitably helps further strengthen the network of community volunteers and family health centers and their collaboration.
With the use of mobile health technology devices provided by the project, joint teams plan to visit 7,121 older people at home and Batsumber nursing home to carry out health check-up and deliver dignity and nutrition kits. In addition to specifically designed knowledge package, older people will be provided with counselling tailored to their specific needs during the visit. Within the framework of the project, the National Gerontology Center is equipped with virtual training facilities thanks to which the community volunteers were trained. It also enables the center to connect with associations of older people and health centers in 9 districts and 21 provinces.
Ageing is a global trend with nearly 674 million people in the world aged 65 and above and has significant health, social and economic implications. Thus, the shift has been towards promoting healthy ageing from promoting health of older people in the recent years. The joint initiative does not only support Mongolia’s national plan on “Healthy Ageing and Health of Older People”, but is also in line with the vision for WHO work with Member States and partners in the Western Pacific Region to become the healthiest and safest region.