Mongolian citizens aged between 15 and 39 can be tested for hepatitis B and C free of charge. This is  the second phase of a national programme called ‘Whole-Liver Mongolia’. The government is aiming to improve knowledge about hepatitis infections, early detection of infections and related cancer, and eliminating factors that lead to hepatitis infections in the future. The second phase of the programme started on 1 April. A total of 590,919 people are expected to be tested for hepatitis B and C virus in the capital, Ulaanbaatar.

Under the initial phase of the programme, people aged 40-65 were tested for hepatitis B and C free of charge last year. Over 535,000 Mongolian citizens have been screened for hepatitis B or C; 353,445 – or 57 percent –  in Ulaanbaatar. According to the Health Ministry, a total of 31,088 people have diagnosed with B and 58,545 people with C.

According to the World Health Organisation, Mongolia has the world’s highest rate of liver cancer, as well as the highest mortality rate linked to the disease.

Cirrhosis and liver cancer caused by hepatitis B and C are the No. 2 killers among the Mongolian people, after heart and coronary diseases. Thus, the government of Mongolia approved the program on 12 April 2017 to eradicate hepatitis B and C by 2020.

As for the total cost of the programme, 226 billion Mongolian Tugriks (USD 94.3 million) – or 24 percent – will be funded by the state budget, 68 percent by the Health Insurance Fund and 8 percent by other financial sources. Currently, some 400,000 Mongolian citizens have been diagnosed with hepatitis B or C.