Extreme winter temperatures affected Mongolia at the end of December 2009. This was followed by a summer of drought. Together these extremes caused the deaths of more than eight million livestock and threatened the livelihoods of Mongolian herders. Isolated herder families and inaccessible communities were unable to access food, fuel for heating, and medical services.
The crisis, in particular, affected pregnant women and children vulnerable to disease outbreaks and malnutrition. In the first half of 2010, Australia provided over $1.6 million to the United Nations Children's Fund, United Nations Population Fund, the International Federation of Red Cross and Mongolian Red Cross Society to undertake humanitarian/emergency relief work. This included distributing essential food and non-food items, providing psychosocial support and health education, replenishing emergency supplies, and longer-term recovery activities.