AKIPRESS.COM - The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has released 157,686 USD from its Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to assist 1,500 herder families (7,500 people) in Mongolia who are at risk of losing all their livestock to extreme sub-zero temperatures and heavy snowfall, according to ReliefWeb.

Based on the latest assessment report released by the Mongolian government, 50 districts in 16 provinces are currently categorized as being affected by dzud (the Mongolian term for severe winter conditions). This will potentially affect more than 965,000 people, especially vulnerable herders.

The herders, most of whom are now facing difficult weather conditions and shortage of hay and fodder, are expected to start losing their livestock in the coming weeks. In order to obtain cash to buy food, hay and other necessities many herders have started selling their animals before they perish in the severe weather. However, the oversupply of livestock resulted in very low market prices, forcing herders to sell at abnormally unfavorable prices. This situation will have the worst consequences for vulnerable families with smaller herds.

While this DREF is launched to ensure that immediate humanitarian needs are met in the affected areas, the Mongolian Red Cross Society is anticipating the need for a more comprehensive response. This includes scaling up the distribution of food and essential non-food items and providing longer term livelihoods support as a part of a larger operation.

“Based on assessments by our National Disaster Response Team, the most vulnerable herders are in desperate need of cash, food and warm clothes to face the challenges of extreme winter conditions,” said Nordov Bolormaa, Secretary General of the Mongolian Red Cross Society.

The herders are facing multiple challenges related to both freezing temperatures and lack of adequate external assistance. With very little to no cash in hand, limited means of transportation and impassable roads covered with thick snow and ice, many herders are not able to reach urban settlements to buy food, warm clothes, and coal for heating.

The Mongolian National State Emergency Committee has warned that over the coming weeks there is a strong likelihood of a dzud disaster similar to that witnessed in the winter of 2009-2010 when snowstorms and extreme cold killed millions of animals, depriving poor herder families in the worst affected areas of their only source of income.

Due to the combination of last summer’s drought and this year’s high livestock numbers, half of the pasture land in the country is estimated not to carry winter grazing that can sustain the animals, particularly through this year’s dzud.