A “Day of Mothers and Children” in Ulaanbaatar was launched with an August 23 rally featuring a speech by Mongolian pop singer Timur Ariuna, who was appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 2001.
The audience included 278 students who were had come for a two-day “Service Party” that is a unique feature of Global Peace Festival-Mongolia. Mongolian Educational Television sponsored the event at Sukhbaatar Square in the center of the nation’s capital and aired the program on its channel.
After the event, students visited families to ask for donations of clothing, books, food, toys, and money to give to needy families.
In the State of the World’s Children Report 2008, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) noted that Mongolia has made great strides in reducing infant mortality. This is good progress towards the UN Millennium Development Goal of reducing the rate by two thirds between 1990 and 2015. The current under-five mortality rate per 1,000 live births is 43, which was 109 in 1990. Previous reports have noted improvements in child nutrition and access to basic education, other key Millennium Development Goals. However, families in isolated rural areas, urban shanties, and ethnic minority communities have limited resources.
In her role as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, Ms. Ariuna has called for increased collaboration to reach out to the children who have the greatest need for care and protection.