Partnership to Fight HIV/AIDS in Lesotho

A key focus of PEPFAR efforts in Lesotho is to link high-quality prevention, care and treatment services, including prevention of mother-to-child transmission, provision of equipment and supplies for TB/HIV care, antiretroviral treatment, and counseling and testing to a population where access to health services poses significant challenges.

The U.S. Government (USG) is increasing its prevention efforts with behavior change activities that target drivers of the epidemic. Additionally, PEPFAR programming is playing an important role in increasing the number and capacity of local indigenous organizations that can provide these services. Given the critical deficit of trained human resources for health, the program also places an important focus on capacity building and retention of health workers through support to the Ministry of Health in policy and planning. The USG provides technical assistance to further develop health management information systems, train laboratory personnel, and expand strategic information systems. Finally, programming is designed to leverage the comparative strengths of PEPFAR in relation to Lesotho's Millennium Challenge Compact supporting health infrastructure. A key component of this collaboration is capacity building of health workers to support new clinics and laboratory infrastructure.