According to the National Statistics Office data of 2020, Mongolia has 1.3 million workers, and by the account of General Authority for Social Insurance, 62.5 per cent of all workers are covered by social insurance, while only 21.6 per cent of Mongolian herders participate in national social insurance scheme and 40 per cent in health insurance scheme.

To better understand herders’ behaviors towards social and health insurance schemes Independent Research Institute of Mongolia (IRIM) in collaboration with professors and researchers from Maastricht University (MU) in Netherlands will carry out the survey of herders which will be administered in 8 provinces covering 4,000 herders, estimated 4-5 per cent of the herders’ population.

Intended beneficiaries of the findings of the study are government officials including social and health insurance agency staff, decision makers, and social partners, members of National Council for Social Insurance, Pastureland Users’ Groups, and broader stakeholders. It is also expected that the study will inform future initiatives of UN agencies and Mongolia’s development partners.

The findings of the study are intended to contribute to decision makers and social partners’ improved understanding about behaviors and behavioral patterns of herders, so as to come up with better solutions to increase health and social insurance coverage of herders by promoting new ideas and innovative solutions with support of technologies where necessary. The research findings will inform the Government about possible gaps, bottlenecks and underutilized resources and opportunities with regard to social insurance law and procedures, and delivery of services.

Key research issues are what are the reasons that prevent herders from enrolling or being enrolled in social protection schemes at individual level; what are the bottlenecks in the legal environment and service delivery of the Government in the area of social and health insurances that delimit the effective coverage of herders.

On 3 June 2021, joint team of the MU and IRIM had a meeting with the Department of Social Insurance Policy Coordination, Ministry of Labour and Social Protection (MLSP) to receive feedback and comments to the framework of the study.

Basing on the final report of the study, findings and recommendations ILO will organize social protection policy dialogue involving UN Resident Coordinator Office (RCO), MLSP and other social partners in September 2021.