Lesotho

Date Started:

2007

Locations (incl. clinics and nearby communities):

141

New Clients Enrolled (2021):

105,815

New Clients Reached Through eServices (2021):

6,183

Mentor Mothers (2021):

208

Country Director:

Mpolokeng Mohloai

Our work in Lesotho

The Kingdom of Lesotho is a mountainous country, surrounded by its neighbour, South Africa. The challenging terrain and widespread poverty mean families face multiple challenges in accessing health care.

In 2007, mothers2mothers (m2m) launched integrated health services in the country, and have since evolved our work to meet the growing needs of the communities which we serve. Today, m2m-employed Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Nurses are working alongside Mentor Mother teams across five districts with high burdens of HIV and AIDS—Berea, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, and Mohale’s Hoek, to provide health and support services to clients, while also encouraging them to adhere to treatment, and stay in care through group education and one-on-one peer interactions.

m2m Lesotho was the first country to expand our scope of work to support the full range of high-quality comprehensive prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) services in two districts of Lesotho—Mohale’s Hoek and Mafeteng Districts. We are also providing targeted support to adolescent girls and young women through the USAID DREAMS (Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored and Safe) initiative, which seeks to empower clients ages 15-24 through youth-friendly reproductive health, education, HIV testing, treatment, and family-centred services.

More recently, m2m expanded our programming in Lesotho to include pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and mental health screening and management, ensuring m2m clients can access these additional avenues of support. On the clinical direct services delivery front, MCH Nurses are conducting cervical cancer screening to postnatal women (including performing pap smears), in line with our 2022-2026 organisational strategy. All women identified to have pre-cancerous lesions during screenings are treated with thermocoagulation (delivered directly by m2m Nurses) or referred for loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP). This achievement is a result of Mentor Mothers’ role in demand creation for screening and MCH Nurses providing timely and accurate information on treatment methods, delivering services, and linking clients to treatment.

Our Impact in Lesotho

Success Story

Makeletso Khomonngoe, HIV Testing Services Mentor, Lesotho

In Lesotho, pregnant women must travel far to get to the nearest health clinic, and many choose to delay their first visit to save money. I was one of these women.

I was just 18 years old when I fell pregnant with my first child. I didn’t know how important it was to go for regular check-ups, so I waited until I was six months along. A routine HIV test came back positive and I felt like I had completely ruined my life. With support from my family and by following my treatment plan, I gave birth to a beautiful son, who was HIV-free.

I work for mothers2mothers as an HIV Testing Mentor Mother. I found out about the organisation from my local clinic when I took my son for his final HIV test when he was 18 months old. They were recruiting women living with HIV to be community health workers called Mentor Mothers.

In my role, I work alongside Nurses employed by m2m to offer HIV testing and counselling services in communities. We also provide other health services such as family planning, vaccinations, and education on antiretroviral treatments. Together, we bring health services to the community, from the people who know them best. These are the type of solutions we need to achieve health for all—and I am proud to play my part.