Marie Stopes Mongolia

Since Marie Stopes Mongolia launched in 1997, Mongolia has experienced increased urbanisation, a maturing health sector, and a booming mining industry - developing into a middle-income country.

However, nearly 40% of the population still live in hard-to-reach areas with a shortage of health professionals, and just under a quarter survive on less than $1.25 a day. Sexual health challenges for Mongolia include a growing young and migrant worker population with an unmet need for contraception, as well as a high prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Marie Stopes Mongolia - known locally as Marie Stopes International Clinics & Contraceptives (MSICC) - was the first non-government organisation of its kind to be established in Mongolia. We are leading the way with family planning and sexual health services in the country.

How we deliver services in Mongolia

Marie Stopes Mongolia is a small programme delivering big impact. From one centre in the capital Ulaanbaatar, we deliver sexual health services. The centre is fortunate enough to be situated near a university, helping us to reach a high number of young girls - over a third of centre clients are aged between 19 and 24.

We also do a small amount of mobile outreach in private companies, reaching migrant and transient workers with contraception and family planning counselling.

There are a lot of positive changes happening in Mongolia, as the private health sector grows and the public sector becomes better able to provide a reasonable level of health services to the poor. In light of this Marie Stopes Mongolia has been increasingly focusing attention on supporting universal healthcare provision in the country, and ensuring quality sexual health services are available nationally.

The team are working with the Mongolian government and partner clinics to train doctors and nurses in administering medical abortion and fitting IUDs and implants. By looking beyond the simple delivery of services, Marie Stopes Mongolia has been able to expand access to long-term contraception and medical abortion for thousands more women. We have also been able to improve the quality of care they get, ensuring that it is more centred on their needs.

Leading the way with affordable contraception

At the heart of our Mongolia programme is our hugely successful contraceptive social marketing program. Hundreds of thousands of people in Mongolia depend on us for affordable and high quality contraception, as we provide around 70% of the country’s contraceptives.

Our socially marketed products include male condoms, emergency contraception, oral contraceptive pills and medical abortion pills. Despite the country’s logistical challenges, our condom brands ‘Trust’ and ‘Mungulug’ are available nearly everywhere in Mongolia. They’re distributed in a range of places including markets, pharmacies, hotels, and even taxis, and they’re an affordable option for many poor and young Mongolians.

We specifically market our ‘Trust’ condom brand to young Mongolians, who are particularly at risk of STIs. Through advertising, packaging and making the brand accessible via youth-friendly channels, we’re working to ensure young people in Mongolia can have safe and healthy sex.