Lesotho News

WHO Country Office Lesotho Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 1, Jan. 2008

4 April 2008, Maseru -- In 2004, Lesotho became one of the first countries in the world to launch a nationwide effort to test its entire population for HIV. The initiative was introduced as the ‘Know Your Status Campaign’ (KYS). The objective of the campaign, which was co-ordinated by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MOHSW), and supported by partners such as the United Nations (UN), mainly WHO, UNICEF and UNDP, was to ensure that all Basotho over the age of 12 years be offered an HIV test by end of 2007.

The Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011-2020), proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in March 2010, was officially launched on May 11th at the Convention Center in Maseru, Lesotho. Road traffic accidents are major but neglected public health problems in Lesotho. During the last five years, 2006-2010, 1,593 people lost their lives on Lesotho roads. The Lesotho Decade of Action covers critical areas for action, from enhancing roads and vehicles to improving the behaviors of drivers.

The World AIDS Day (WAD) national commemoration was marked on the 1st December,2011 at Ha Mabote in Maseru District. The theme for this year is “Getting to zero: zero new HIV infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS related deaths".

“The HIV/TB combination is probably one of the biggest challenges for health in Lesotho. 2012 is the time for a massive scale up of access to treatment for TB and HIV” -Dr. Mphu Ramatlapeng, Minister of Health and Social Welfare

World TB day was commemorated this year on 24th March around the world. This years theme was “Zero TB deaths– Stop TB in my lifetime”.

Inside this issue

1. Highlights
2. World TB Awareness Week, March 2012
3. World Health Day, April 2012
4. World No Tobacco Day, May 2012
5. The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare Launches Decentralization of Primary Health Care, May 2012
6. STEPS Survey, June 2012
7. UN staff support blood drive on World Blood Donor Day, June 2012

WHO Country Office Lesotho Bi-Annual Newsletter

On Wednesday, 1st August, WHO Lesotho Country Representative, Dr. Jacob Mufunda, undertook a press briefing session with the national media to inform them about the recent establishment of the African Public Health Emergency Fund(APHEF). He encouraged wide publicity and sustained advocacy in support of the implementation of the resolution. The purpose of the APHEF is to facilitate the mobilizing, managing and disbursing of additional resources from Member States for responding to public health emergencies in a most efficient and timely manner.

Lesotho has the third highest HIV prevalence in the world and more than one in five adults are HIV-Positive. The impact of HIV on individuals, families and the whole nation is being felt as adults become too sick to work and children orphaned by AIDS are left to run households.