HERDER FAMILIES TO RECEIVE MONEY

Wednesday's cabinet meeting allowed M.Enkhbold, the Deputy Premier and Head of the State Emergency Commission (SEC), to grant MNT 300 thousand to each of herder families that have lost all livestock due to zud disaster. The money is allotted from a non-refundable aid the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has given Mongolia.
In accordance with an agreement with the ADB, total of MNT 2 billion 572 thousand 800 will be granted to these 8,576 families living in Arkhangai, Bayan-Olgii, Bayankhongor, Gobi-Altai, Dornod, Dundgobi, Zavkhan, Ovorkhangai, Omnogobi, Tov, Uvs, Khovd and Khovsgol aimags. In addition to it, these aimags' emergency sections will receive 20 Russian "UAZ-31512" jeeps costing MNT 366 million and 10 Russian-made vans costing MNT 185 million. These vans have been equipped with necessary facilities of MNT 96.2 million.
The government also decided to distribute six deinfection apparatuses (MNT 240 million) to these aimags in order to prevent human and livestock infectious diseases, terminate livestock carcasses and to make sterilization and disinfection.
As of today, the country has lost 8.1 million heads of livestock, 90 per cent of this livestock have perished in Ovorkhangai, Zavkhan, Gobi-Altai, Dundgobi, Khovd, Arkhangai, Bayankhongor, Bayan-Olgii, Uvs, Tov, Omnogobi and Khovsgol aimags. Due to the disaster, 8,576 rural families have lost all livestock--the only source of living, 32,756 families have lost at least 50 per cent of their animals, and 1,400 families have moved to centers of aimags and soums.