Key Takeaways
- Mongolia is working towards meeting the World Health Organization’s Zero Net Hunger goal. Though the country had a food hunger score of 29.5 in 2000, changes to food insecurity systems saw this score drop to 5.1 by 2025, one of the lowest across the globe.
- Mongolia’s agricultural and food supply improvements are being achieved through diversifying food production, risk mitigation in climate-vulnerable areas, and providing affordable and nutritious options to students in schools.
- Mitigating the effects of malnourishment and climate change have made Mongolia’s people less at risk of chronic conditions like obesity, cancer, and cardiovascular disease.
Background
Global efforts to address hunger and food insecurity have been guided by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 2, which aims to create a hunger-free world by 2030. Despite measurable progress, both issues remain widespread, with millions still lacking reliable access to nutritious food. These challenges in food insecurity are influenced by various factors like economic inequality, conflict, supply chain disruptions, and climate-related impacts on food production and availability. Many countries also experience a dual burden of malnutrition which forces them to contend with coexisting undernutrition and diet-related chronic diseases.
Mongolia is a particularly relevant case study in this global context. From 2000 to 2025, Mongolia significantly lowered its Global Hunger Index score from 29.5 to 5.1, a low level of hunger. This progress reflects broad efforts to improve food security and nutrition outcomes throughout the country.
However, 25% of Mongolians continue to face moderate or severe food insecurity as of 2022. Mongolia’s limited growing season and small amount of farmland compound the issue by forcing the country to rely heavily on imports for much of its food. Rice has only been grown domestically since September 2025, and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) notes that reduced domestic production leaves imports as Mongolia’s only source of potatoes and vegetables. Policy actions such as securing future food supplies and introducing a risk-based inspection system allow the country to begin addressing gaps in long-term food security.
Securing the Future Food Supply
Mongolia is strengthening its agriculture sector to improve food security and long-term economic development. Investment in agriculture supports food availability and also promotes job creation, income stability, and overall economic growth–particularly for rural communities whose livelihoods rely on farming and livestock. The Atar program, a multi-phase agricultural development initiative facilitated by the Mongolian government, mixes sustainable farming practices with soil testing and crop rotation to reclaim degraded farmland and increase sustainable food production. It also directly helps farmers by providing them with subsidies and low-interest loans to help purchase equipment, expand farmland, and invest in irrigation systems.
The program’s current phase, Atar-IV, focuses on prioritizing an export-driven agricultural economy through the acquisition and cultivation of 1.2 million hectares of arable land and irrigation system advancements that make the most of limited water resources. Its programming trains farmers to select resilient crops more adapted to climate variability and reduce dependence on current crops by diversifying agricultural production.
International organizations have also supported Mongolia’s efforts. The World Bank has established feeding hubs in vulnerable regions designed to prevent overgrazing and degradation of grasslands by providing livestock with alternative feeding options. Mongolia’s partnership with the FAO built upon these efforts by launching the Capacity Development on Sustainable Soil Management in the Global South. The program will run until 2028 and share knowledge with farmers which lets them enhance technical expertise in soil management and sustainable agricultural practices.
Improving Food Safety and Access
Mongolia’s 2010 installation of a “risk-based inspection system” began the country’s process of improving food safety by systemizing national inspection tools and training business operators on effective food inspection techniques. This replaced the old inspection system, which lacked verification and coordination capabilities among individual inspections and primarily gave business operators the responsibility to enforce general food regulations.
The system was bolstered in 2015 by the addition of 42 WHO-trained inspectors–which decreased ineffective inspections by 25%–and continues to be improved by new government practices. One such change, a reframing of inspections’ power balances which emphasized “teaching over punishment”, encouraged inspectors and food businesses to work as collaborators in reducing safety risks. This new mentality has led to fewer violations of food safety regulations.
Mongolia’s government also used its policy powers to implement the 2019 Law on Food Production and Service for General Education Schools, which addressed food safety at the school level and started a national lunch program for more than 380,000 children from first through fifth grade. In 2025, the FAO noted that the Mongolian government intends to expand the program to apply to 800,000 students across grades 1-12. Its study found that a budgetary increase of $0.27 USD per student would be sufficient to make nutritionally satisfactory school meals widely accessible and that the program will be easy to continue and expand in the future.
Chronic Disease Prevention
Mongolia is using increased production of nutritious options and open access to healthcare knowledge to improve the outcomes of communicable and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). These conditions, which include cancer and cardiovascular disease, currently have an 83% mortality rate exacerbated by knowledge gaps surrounding proper diet choices, affordable food sources, and healthcare access.
Resource disparities within the country’s clean water and hunger crises increase chronic disease development and persistence among low-income women, rural communities, urban settlements, and those predisposed to chronic diseases. These populations’ risk of chronic disease and obesity increases because they often consume diets that are high in carbohydrates, sugars, and salt. Residents of rural areas are also at risk of cardiovascular and chronic diseases because their diets tend to be high in red meats, sugars, and carbohydrates.
Mongolia’s government can decrease rates of the above chronic diseases by providing each malnourished population with higher-quality food, improving progress towards the WHO’s Zero Net Hunger goals. Balanced diets including items like berries, melons, and root vegetables grown according to the shifting climate can improve overall health outcomes. They would also supplement the combination of food security policies and enhanced engagement with these populations which caused Mongolia’s chronically undernourished population to decline from 65% in 2018 to 2.5% in 2024.
Implications for Global Hunger Reduction Efforts
Mongolia’s progress toward achieving the WHO’s Zero Net Hunger goal is an example of systems-level reform in addressing food insecurity. These reforms, which include improved supply chains, agricultural support, and nutrition programs, have increased food security and improved population health outcomes. Policies such as the Food Supply and Security initiative, often referred to as the “Food Revolution,” prioritized domestic production and reduced dependence on imports while improving resilience to global supply disruptions.
Mongolia’s emphasis on child nutrition programs was also highly successful. School-based meal initiatives and community nutrition programs addressed immediate food needs while contributing to improved educational outcomes and workforce productivity, creating a coordinated strategy that accomplishes hunger reduction more effectively than single interventions. This approach may offer a valuable model for other nations seeking to address undernutrition and diet-related chronic diseases.
However, Mongolia’s experience also shows that successful hunger reduction strategies must be tailored to specific contexts. While the country’s policies provide an effective framework, hunger reduction is not one-size-fits-all. Mongolia’s trajectory demonstrates that, with sustained investment and coordinated policy, decreases in food hunger are possible and replicable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why has Mongolia’s Hunger Score improved significantly over the past two decades?
Mongolia’s progress is the result of coordinated interventions like targeted government policies, increased agricultural investment, and expanded social protection programs. Together, these efforts have improved food availability, accessibility, and quality across the country.
What role do international organizations play in Mongolia’s food security improvements?
Organizations like the WHO and UN provide technical support and alignment with global standards, showing that national governments and international entities can work together to accelerate hunger reduction.
Can Mongolia’s strategies be applied to other countries?
Mongolia’s approach offers a valuable framework, especially its blending of agricultural policy and nutrition programs. However, successful implementation in other countries requires adaptation to local cultural, environmental, and economic contexts, as food systems and challenges vary widely.
How does climate change impact Mongolia’s food security?
Climate change causes Mongolia to experience extreme temperatures, drought, and land degradation which reduce agricultural productivity. These environmental pressures increase vulnerability to food insecurity and highlight the need for climate-resilient agricultural practices.
Why does food insecurity persist despite improvements in hunger scores?
Although national hunger levels have decreased, inequalities persist. Around 1 in 4 Mongolians still experience moderate or severe food insecurity, particularly in rural and low-income populations. This reflects disparities in access to nutritious and affordable food.