Many families with numerous children have moved from the countryside to the city. It is estimated that half a million children and young people live in the ger districts. More new arrivals are added every year. The children often lack protection and care in their families because their parents are struggling with difficult living conditions. There is no money for medical care. This becomes apparent at a young age, especially in terms of dental health. Mongolia is one of the countries with the highest caries rates in the world. On average, 3 to 8 teeth of the children treated by the Misheel Kids Foundation are partially or completely destroyed. Dental health is dramatically poor. For the children, this means not only terrible pain but also gaps in their education due to absences and long-term difficulties in accessing the job market.
As early as 2022, we started looking for a way to provide sustainable dental care for the children and to have permanent premises available where we can provide oral hygiene training for children and parents. After all, the situation can only be sustainably improved with preventative work. Daily tooth brushing is not firmly established in Mongolian families, but the consumption of sweets and soft drinks is widespread.
At the end of 2022, our attention was drawn to a house that is located in the middle of the ger districts but has water and electricity supply. This is an important requirement. After discussions with the city administration, the Ministry of Health and the owner, a conversion project for a dental clinic – the Dental Health Center – has now been drawn up.
The aim of the clinic is, on the one hand, to provide acute dental care for children and young people in poor neighborhoods. On the other hand, we are keen to make a contribution to the development of permanent local health care, from which the poor sections of the population can also benefit in the long term. An important element of this is awareness-raising and educational work on the connection between nutrition and health, specifically dental health.
For this reason, we are also planning to hold regular training courses for our young patients and their parents when the clinic opens and to establish training for future prophylaxis teachers. To do this, we need suitable training rooms on site. The aim is for the prophylaxis teachers to pass on the knowledge they have learned to the children in schools.
To achieve this project Misheel Kids Foundation is dependent on your donations. Every donation, regardless of the amount, is urgently needed and will be used to finance the construction and creation of the oral health center in the middle of the Ger district. Click here to for information on how to help us finance this ambitious long term project.
