The Denan Project activities assessed in Chandmani Soum, Gobi-Altai province

Save the Children in Mongolia has been executing a health project in Chandmani soum of Gobi-Altai province since 2022, funded by The Denan Project. As part of this initiative, a dental cabinet was established at the Chandmani Soum Health Care Center in 2022, and a new ambulance car was donated in 2023 in collaboration with the Local Council in Ulaanbaatar. Additionally, the health care center received essential equipment, medicines, and  other support for the activities of Health Club at secondary school.

On July 22, 2024, L. Bayan-Altai, Country Manager and Representative of Save the Children in Mongolia; B. Nomin, Health Project Officer; Dick Young, Founder and President of The Denan Project; and Jean Shin, Board Member of The Denan Project, assessed the implementation and outcomes of the project.

Ch. Bat-Erdene, Head of the Health Care Center in Chandmani soum, presented the project’s progress and outcomes. To date, 1,666 people have received dental care service  at the dental cabinet, 1,488 have undergone preventive check-ups, and 1,047 have had follow-up examinations. In addition to the residents of Chandmani soum, the project has also provided oral health care services to individuals in Erdene, Tsogt Soum, Bayantooroi village, Baatsagaan, Buutsagaan, and Bayan-Undur in Bayankhongor province. The Chandmani Soum Health Care Center has covered a total of 15,000 km with the donated ambulance, responding to 29 emergency calls in 2023 and 145 emergency calls in the first six months of 2024. Out of these 174 calls, 73 were related to child health.

During the meeting, B. Bumannanjid, Doctor at the Secondary School in Chandmani Soum, introduced the “Peace Worker”- health club to the project implementers and funding organization. This club, consisting of 33 students from grades 9-12, meets twice a week for discussions and conducts public training three times a month, including two sessions on oral health. Bumannanjid noted that two club members will now pursue studies at the Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences.

Jean Shin, Board Member of The Denan Project, said: “I am visiting Chandmani soum for the second time. Significant progress has been made since my first visit in May 2022. We are pleased with the cooperation over the past two years and hope it will continue. These small successes are what we’ve been anticipating. On behalf of my fellow board members of The Denan Project, I extend our gratitude to our donors and to the teams at Save the Children. Many positive changes and improvements have taken place at the Health Care Center compared to two years ago. Through face-to-face discussions with the head doctor, dentist, and school doctor over a couple of days, we reviewed our progress, planned for the upcoming year, and exchanged ideas”.

At the end of the meeting, Ch. Bat-Erdene sought the possibility to provide additional mobile technologies’ set for the Health Care Center, including portable ultrasound apparatus  and portable ECG apparatus. This equipment will enable more flexible and efficient examinations and facilitate disease diagnosis in various locations.