A bitterly cold winter after a summer of drought has left herder families in Mongolia without livestock and facing severe food shortages as well as struggling to afford basics such as school supplies, hygiene items and healthcare, Save the Children warned.

Currently 13 of Mongolia’s 21 provinces are experiencing a dzud. It’s a natural phenomenon unique to Mongolia, when heavy snow and extreme cold follow a summer drought resulting in insufficient grazing pastures and killing livestock. Between 1940 and 2015, there were official “dzud declarations” made twice a decade. However, dzud’s have increased in frequency, with occurrences now happening annually.

This year, winter temperatures dropped as low as -40 Celsius causing many animals that were already malnourished to perish due to starvation or freezing, affecting the livelihoods of nearly 200,000 households who make an income from herding goats, sheep, cattle, horses, yaks and camels. The dire situation is exacerbated by inflation, which skyrocketed in 2022.

As a result of the dzud, around 213,000 people, including 80,000 children, are now in need of humanitarian aid including food, access to health facilities, and hygiene items. During a dzud, children under five are at high risk of malnutrition, respiratory diseases, and injuries, as their caregivers struggle to afford attention and healthcare.

Save the Children is helping herders and their children in Khovd, Zavkhan, Gobi-Altai, Bayankhongor, and Tuv provinces. The organisation also distributed hygiene kits to about 2,130 children of herders, who are staying in school dormitories.