Funding Women Entrepreneurs on Mongolia’s Covid Front Line www.asiafoundation.com

Mongolia was one of the first countries in the world to adopt strict Covid-19 containment measures, starting with a January 27 halt to air and land travel between China and Mongolia, school closings, and a ban on gatherings. Eventually, all commercial flights to Mongolia were stopped, and so far this has miraculously limited the number of infections to slightly over 200, with no confirmed cases of community transmission.

Mongolia’s economy has been a different story. Economic growth—a respectable 5.1 percent in 2019—is expected to fall sharply in 2020. The OECD originally forecast that Mongolia’s 2020 economy would grow at 5.4 percent, but in May it revised its estimate dramatically downward, to minus 1 percent. The nation’s heavy reliance on export earnings from extractive industries makes matters worse. This lack of diversification is likely to hobble employment, investment, productivity, and longer-term recovery from the pandemic in an economic future that is “subject to unprecedented uncertainty” for Mongolia and many other developing nations.

While the government quickly adopted expansionary monetary and fiscal policies—lowering interest rates, for example, and exempting the public from social insurance taxes for six months—Mongolia still faces serious macroeconomic challenges, including growing national debt, declining tax revenues, and falling commodity prices. This bleak outlook, and the country’s strong measures against Covid-19, have created a challenging business environment for all Mongolian entrepreneurs, but it has been especially difficult for women.

A Tsagaan Sar (New Year) sales event in 2018. Small businesses that depend on these sales often take out loans to stock up on inventory in the weeks before the holiday, and the unexpected lockdown this year has left them overstocked and in debt.

The majority of the female labor force in Mongolia is concentrated in the retail and service sectors, which are sensitive to downturns in consumer spending like those in the current crisis. While the government’s Covid-19 stimulus package includes relief for small businesses, none is designated specifically for women. The Asia Foundation conducted a rapid survey of a sample of businesswomen at Mongolia’s Women’s Business Center (WBC) in Ulaanbaatar, established in 2016 with support from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). All 30 businesswomen surveyed said they were struggling, as revenues dried up, to keep their businesses open, keep up with accruing costs, and pay employee salaries.

The women surveyed also cited the additional burden of being primary caregivers for their families while trying to keep their businesses alive. Schools and kindergartens have been closed since January, and many families have no backup plan for childcare. Confinement at home has been challenging and in some cases dangerous, as increased domestic violence has significantly affected women and children’s safety since the lockdown.

But now for a rare moment of positive news: The Asia Foundation’s Mongolia office recently rolled out several strategies to equip WBC clients to endure and operate in this environment. The Foundation’s the Lotus Rapid Response Fund provided critical survival tools, including emergency cash grants, a direct hotline for women experiencing psychological or social problems, mentorships to guide businesses in the transition to online sales, and a public information partnership with the Ulaanbaatar police department to disseminate information on domestic violence.

Small entrepreneur Chuluuntsetseg is among the businesswomen receiving assistance from the Lotus Rapid Response Fund. One of 47 graduates of the WBC’s business incubator, she launched a sewing business producing bed linens and blankets, but when the border with China closed, she lost her source of raw materials. Her business received another blow when the government, for the first time in literally centuries, canceled the February celebration of Tsagaan Sar, the Mongolian Lunar New Year. This is a holiday when people spend lavishly on gifts, and small businesses that depend on these Tsagaan Sar sales often take out loans to stock up on inventory in the weeks before the holiday. When the lockdown began at the end of January, the celebration was scrapped, leaving businesses overstocked and in debt.

The Women’s Business Center helped Chuluuntsetseg keep her small business, which almost failed during the pandemic.

Chuluuntsetseg’s business was one of them. Her profitability collapsed. She received no assistance from the government, she told us, either as a small business or as a disabled person. She had no choice but to close her business down. Many other women entrepreneurs also closed up shop, either temporarily or indefinitely. Most of the women from the WBC employed other women, and their business closures had a devastating domino effect.

The Rapid Response Fund stepped in with $500 emergency grants to Chuluuntsetseg and 15 other women entrepreneurs. With just this minimal support, Chuluuntsetseg was able to find new, local suppliers for her raw materials. She shifted her product line to include cotton masks and gloves to address the nationwide shortage of personal protective equipment. She worked with mentors to expand her online sales, including using Facebook’s “boost” option and the WBC’s new online shopping mall instead of relying on the government’s product expos, which have been canceled during the pandemic.

More than 6,000 women entrepreneurs are now registered with the WBC, most of them severely affected by the pandemic. Working inside the WBC, we see firsthand and every day the unique barriers women entrepreneurs face, and that they warrant dedicated support programs during this extraordinary crisis. We have made a good start by sustaining a small group of female-led businesses, and we hope support follows for the many more entrepreneurs who fuel Mongolia’s economic engine.

Soomin Jun is a program specialist for The Asia Foundation’s Women’s Business Center and Incubator Project in Mongolia, and Saranzaya Gerelt-Od is a senior program officer and gender specialist for The Asia Foundation’s Mongolia office. They can be reached at soomin.jun@asiafoundation.org and saranzaya.gereltod@asiafoundation.org, respectively. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the authors, not those of The Asia Foundation.

Erdene Resource intersects 5.5 metres of 126 g/t in Mongolia www.resourceworld.com

Erdene Resource Development Corp. [ERD-TSX; ERDCF-OTC; ERDN-MSE] reported drill results from the Midfield Southeast Zone at the100%-owned Bayan Khundii gold project in southwest Mongolia.

New cabinet ministers appointed www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. The Parliament of Mongolia today, July 8, approved new members of the cabinet, presented by Prime Minister U.Khurelsukh, yesterday July 7. The Steering Committee of the ruling Mongolian People’s Party, which holds majority or 62 seats in the 76-seat parliament - State Great Khural, convened on July 7, to approve the list of ministers to nominate for the cabinet.

Mongolia ATO gold mine passes 15,000 oz gold in first three months www.news.mn

Steppe Gold Ltd. provided an update on its production ramp-up at its 100%-owned ATO gold mine in Mongolia.

Coal seam gas production in Southern Mongolia www.news.mn

Absorption test results from Elixir Energy’s Nomgon-1 well has indicated the coals are near fully gas-saturated, which could point to a simpler and cheaper pilot design for the Mongolian coal seam gas (CSG) project and the potential for early production. The junior explorer today reported the final key laboratory results for its Nomgon-1 well, which was announced as a CSG discovery in February.

Mongolia to repatriate peacekeepers from Afghanistan www.news.mn

Two cases of bubonic plague prompt crack down on marmot hunting www.9news.com.au

Russian authorities have warned people near the country's border with Mongolia not to hunt or eat marmots after an outbreak of bubonic plague.
Two cases of the plague were recorded in the Khovd province in western Mongolia, Russian state media agency TASS reported on Tuesday.

New government structure approved with 14 ministries and 17 ministers www.montsame.mn

The Parliament of Mongolia today passed the bill on amendments to the government structure and composition on its first discussion and accompanying bills. The bill was submitted to the State Great Khural by the cabinet led by Prime Minister U.Khurelsukh yesterday, July 6, based on the consent of President Kh.Battulga in compliance with article 39.3 of the Constitution of Mongolia. The same day, parliamentary plenary session and the standing committee on State Structure discussed the proposal with no objection raised for the bill.

Trump administration begins formal withdrawal from World Health Organization www.cnn.com

(CNN)The Trump administration has notified Congress and the United Nations that the United States is formally withdrawing from the World Health Organization, multiple officials tell CNN, a move that comes amid a rising number of coronavirus cases throughout the Americas over the past week.

The withdrawal, which goes into effect next July, has drawn criticism from bipartisan lawmakers, medical associations, advocacy organizations and allies abroad. Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden vowed Tuesday to reverse the decision "on (his) first day" if elected.
Sen. Robert Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee tweeted the news Tuesday.
"Congress received notification that POTUS officially withdrew the U.S. from the ⁦‪@WHO⁩in the midst of a pandemic. To call Trump's response to COVID chaotic & incoherent doesn't do it justice. This won't protect American lives or interests—it leaves Americans sick & America alone," he wrote.
A State Department official also confirmed that "the United States' notice of withdrawal, effective July 6, 2021, has been submitted to the UN Secretary-General, who is the depository for the WHO." The spokesperson for Secretary-General António Guterres said he had received the notice and "is in the process of verifying with the World Health Organization whether all the conditions for such withdrawal are met." Those conditions "include giving a one-year notice and fully meeting the payment of assessed financial obligations."
Republicans urge Trump not to terminate relationship with World Health Organization
Republicans urge Trump not to terminate relationship with World Health Organization
The letter addressed to the UN is very short, around three sentences, a source briefed on the correspondence told CNN, and it triggers a one-year withdrawal timeline. However, this source also cautioned that they cannot confirm they saw the final version of the letter.
Among its current functions, the WHO is attempting to coordinate efforts to get personal safety and medical equipment, like ventilators, to hospitals around the world. Elizabeth Cousens, the president and CEO of the UN Foundation, said the organization is "indispensable" in the fight against Covid-19.
Loyce Pace, president and executive director of Global Health Council, echoed that point, telling CNN: "Thousands of people have spoken, from health experts to heads of state and heroes on the frontlines: the world needs WHO. This move signals a dangerous gamble in the midst of a pandemic we have yet to conquer, and without a viable alternative to WHO."
Some have warned that withdrawal in the current environment could also interfere with clinical trials essential for developing vaccines, as well as efforts to trace the spread of the virus globally.
'Short-sighted, unnecessary, and unequivocally dangerous'
President Donald Trump said he was halting funding to the organization in mid-April and announced his intention to withdraw from the WHO in May after he said it "failed to make the requested and greatly needed reforms." Trump had denounced the US' contribution to the WHO -- $400-500 million -- in comparison to China's and consistently accused the organization of aiding China in allegedly covering up the origins of the virus and allowing its spread.
While lawmakers from both parties have long cited systemic problems with the WHO, many have also denounced the President's decision to withdraw during a once-in-a-century global pandemic.
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called it "is an act of true senselessness." Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said he disagreed with Trump's decision.
"If the administration has specific recommendations for reforms of the WHO, it should submit those recommendations to Congress, and we can work together to make those happen," he said.
Last month, despite alleging that the World Health Organization "enabled" the Chinese government's sweeping cover-up of the coronavirus pandemic's origins, members of the GOP China task force urged Trump to reconsider his decision to terminate relations with the international body, arguing that the US can do more to affect change as a member.
Cousens, the head of the UN Foundation, called the decision "short-sighted, unnecessary, and unequivocally dangerous" and said that the US' "ability to lead and shape an agenda for reform is drastically diminished when they step out of the field of play."
"There's no question but that working within an institution like the World Health Organization allows the United States and others to leverage their resources to have much greater impact," she told CNN.
She pointed to the WHO's work in "distributing millions of pieces of personal protective equipment to medical facilities around the world, millions of diagnostic tests, tracking the virus' spread across borders, coordinating global efforts to develop a vaccine, ... coordinating research among over 100 countries ... along with all of the work that they do in low resource and more humanitarian settings."
Move comes as virus is surging
The heads of the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Family Physicians and American College of Physicians condemned the move to withdraw from the WHO, saying in a statement that it "puts the health of our country at grave risk."
"This dangerous withdrawal not only impacts the global response against COVID-19, but also undermines efforts to address other major public health threats," they said in a joint statement. "We call on Congress to reject the Administration's withdrawal from the WHO and make every effort to preserve the United States' relationship with this valued global institution. Now is the time to invest in global health, rather than turn back."
The number of coronavirus cases continues to surge across the US and in various countries around the world.
There are at least 2,953,423 cases of coronavirus in the US, and at least 130,546 people have died from the virus in the country, according to Johns Hopkins University's tally of cases.
On Monday, Johns Hopkins reported 17,346 new cases and 261 deaths. The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases.
Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro tests positive for Covid-19 after months of dismissing the seriousness of the virus
Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro tests positive for Covid-19 after months of dismissing the seriousness of the virus
Trump has repeatedly insisted that the rise of cases in the US is purely the result of increased testing, but a WHO official knocked down that claim on Monday.
WHO scientists and experts are scheduled to travel to China this weekend to investigate the origins of the novel coronavirus, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced on Tuesday.
Specifically, experts will be seeking to trace the narrative of how the coronavirus might have spread from the wild to possibly farm animals to humans, said Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO's Health Emergencies Program.
Biden vows to reverse decision
The Trump administration has already diverted funding from the WHO and the process to formally withdraw will take a year to complete. Critics of the decision hope that the withdrawal decision will be reversed if Trump loses the presidential election in November. In a tweet Tuesday, Biden vowed to do so if elected.
"Americans are safer when America is engaged in strengthening global health. On my first day as President, I will rejoin the @WHO and restore our leadership on the world stage," he wrote.
US allies have rallied to the support of the WHO, with a top diplomat from Germany calling for global solidarity and Italy's Health Minister criticizing Trump's decision as "serious and wrong".
Trump's decision to permanently terminate the US relationship with the WHO follows a years-long pattern of railing against global organizations, with the President claiming that the US is being taken advantage of. The President has questioned US funding to the United Nations and NATO, withdrawn from the Paris climate accord and repeatedly criticized the World Trade Organization.
CNN's Manu Raju, Richard Roth, Valentina DiDonato, Lauren Mascarenhas and Sarah Mucha contributed to this report.

China’s $3 TRILLION foreign exchange reserves continue to grow www.rt.com

Beijing has continued increasing its foreign exchange reserves – already the world’s largest – adding $10.64 billion in June to its $3.112 trillion, central bank data showed on Tuesday.
The figure is less than the $3.120 trillion expected by economists who were polled by Reuters.