One of the main objectives of strengthening the social protection system is to digitalize the social welfare services and increase their transparency, promptness, and accessibility within the framework of the “E-Mongolia” program implemented by the Government of Mongolia.  In line with this objective, the “Strengthening Fiscal and Financial Stability Project,” jointly implemented by the Ministry of Finance and the World Bank, is aiming to improve the information and technology system and resources of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection by organizing a nationwide capacity-building program.

The development and implementation of the Social Welfare E-service System (ehalamj.mn) is a collaborative effort of relevant organizations such as the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, the Information Technology Center of Custom, Taxation and Finance, and the General Office for Labor and Social Welfare Service.

The social welfare e-service system (ehalamj.mn) has been introduced step by step since August 25, 2020, and the following 6 types of services were integrated into the system. These include:

1. Maternity benefits;
2. Childcare allowance for children under 0-3 years of age;
3. Twin child allowance;
4. Allowance for single mothers and fathers with 3 or more children aged 0-18;
5. Age endowment;
6. Allowance for mothers with 1st and 2nd honors.

These 6 types of social welfare services cover a total of 659.8 thousand people in duplicate, which accounts for 25.8% of the total beneficiaries. In 2021, preparations are underway to transfer other monthly pensions and benefits to e-services. Furthermore, the benefits and assistance for the elderly and people with disabilities, community-based social welfare services, and specialized care services, which have a frequency of 2-3 years, are planned to be transferred starting from 2022.

One of the key factors in ensuring the quality, continuity and standard operation of the social service is to train the staff of the sector in the implementation of the ever-evolving electronic system and to provide professional training to respond promptly to questions and situations that may arise during the application of the systems. Therefore, starting from August 2020, a total of 766 employees of the Labor and Welfare Service Departments in 21 aimags and 9 districts of Mongolia were trained. A total of 25 trainers from the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, the Information Technology Center of Custom, Taxation and Finance, and the General Office for Labor and Social Welfare Service organized the theory and practice combined training.

Some of the results of the nationwide training:

• Increased knowledge and skills of the participants to use the integrated welfare e-service system,
• Detailed case study on unsolvable cases at the program level and identification of relevant solutions,
• Training participants will be able to share their knowledge and experience within the sector by acquiring the skills of a trainer,
• There was an opportunity to make relevant improvements to the system by submitting the suggestions and requests of the training participants to the developer organization.

In addition, 2 types of brochures on 6 services included in the integrated welfare e-service system were published and delivered to the district and provincial departments of social welfare. The brochures were placed in public areas, such as government offices and billboards.

The introduction of the Ehalamj social welfare e-service system has the following benefits:

• Decreased number of paper documents;
• Reduced the time citizens spend on public services;
• Citizens receive social welfare pensions and benefits through their personal bank accounts;
• Ability to monitor the process of resolving requests and application they submitted;
• During the quarantine of Covid-19 pandemic, the citizens are accessing e-services without visiting social welfare organization or bank, and there have not been any complaints; 
• The workload of soum and sub-district social workers and welfare organizations has been reduced, and opportunities for the professional social work services, such as the development of vulnerable people and the training of consultants, have increased.