A middle-income country with a population of just over 3 million, Mongolia has experienced significant economic growth since its transition to a market-oriented economy in 1990, with the country’s GDP more than tripling since 1991. This growth has been accompanied by substantial improvements in the provision of public health care services. Specifically, the right to “health protection and to obtain medical financial protection provided. These challenges are particularly acute in remote regions and among the most vulnerable, including nomadic households who comprise around one quarter of the Mongolian population (Higara, Uochi, and Doyle 2020). In particular, herders, who make up 19.5 per cent the population and account for three in five of the rural poor depend solely on their livestock for income (Higara, Uochi, and Doyle 2020; National Statistical Office 2018). This places them at high risk of slipping into poverty due to catastrophic health expenditures. To address these challenges, the Government is pursing Universal Health Coverage (UHC) as a national priority, as reflected in both the State Policy on Health (2017–2026) and the Long-Term Strategy for the Development of Health Insurance (2013– 2022). 

This country brief is part of the country briefs series: Social Protection in action: building social protection floors for all.