Mongolia is sorely lacking the capacities to assist its disabled populations. Although Mongolia ratified the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2009 to the benefit of disabled persons' rights, It has few mechanisms to implement or monitor the implementation of laws, says S. Selenge, director of the Association of Parent of Disabled Children (APDC), a non-profit that campaigns for legislation to address disabled children's needs.

“There's nothing happening to properly survey and diagnose children and categorize their disabilities,” she said, “Often it's poorly qualified doctors or even teachers who decide if a child is disabled simply because the child is not doing well at school. Improper diagnosis is like closing the door on a child. ”

Many children with physical disabilities are not accepted by mainstream schools and often end up segregated at special-needs schools where they are prepared for a life separate from society. Even worse, most children don't attend school at all.

According to a 2008 survey by the Ministry of Social Welfare and Labor, only 21 percent of disabled children attend regular schools, while 5.8 percent attend special-needs schools. The rest simply don't attend.

Segregation often puts vicious cycle of poverty into motion. The State Social Welfare Office estimates that nearly 80 percent of disabled persons in Mongolia live below the poverty line. With government benefits for disabled persons at MNT 30,000 per month and another MNT 30,000 per quarter to cover medical expenses, most of the disabled are unable to afford the treatment they need, activists have said.

Only about 2 percent of the 69,000 adults with disabilities who took part in a survey by the Independent Trade Union of Disabled Persons of Mongolia hold a job. Most of those disabilities are “mild to moderate,” usually a result of injuries or accidents. Unemployment remains despite a government decree mandating companies employ one disabled worker for every 25 able-bodied. Failing that, employers are required to pay a fine equaling half the minimum salary to the Social Welfare Fund for Disabled Persons. However, most companies prefer to pay that fine than to accommodate a disabled worker.