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All pregnant women are routinely tested for HIV when they present at a clinic for the first
visit. New and expectant mothers are provided with Mother Baby Packs as part of the
Plan B program. These are aimed at prevention of transmission of HIV during
pregnancy and after birth. The packs which are given to mothers who are HIV positive
and HIV negative look identical. The difference is that HIV positive women are provided
packs with PMTCT drugs and the HIV negative women are provided with post-natal
vitamins. This is to reduce stigma attached to receipt of the pack and to consequently
improve compliance rates with PMTCT drugs.
GoL have several programs run out of health care clinics, such as Nutrition Corners for
the feeding of children who are under five (5) years and malnourished. The MOH
facilitate Health Centre Committees who coordinate activities and information exchange
between the local health centres and the surrounding communities. GoL provide cash
grants and food packages to families who are vulnerable which include tins of formula
for babies. Agriculture programs aim to improve food security and reduce the current
level of stunting and wasting in children. GoL also undertake WASH programs to
improve sanitation and access to clean drinking water, particularly in rural communities.
Pediatric AIDs clinics run by Baylor College provide primary health care to children
infected with HIV and AIDS and conduct research into the disease. They are located in
multiple districts with a dedicated clinic in Maseru and visited clinics in other Districts.
The visited clinics are District health clinics which are staffed 2-3 days per week by
Baylor staff. Baylor conduct Youth Clubs in Maseru on weekends where children
infected and affected get involved in physical and team building activities as ways to
learn about the illness.
Non-government organisations are heavily involved in peripheral health care provision
in Lesotho. Jhpiego provide medical circumcision for boys as an HIV preventative and
training for nurses to bring their skills to a comparable standard to others in Southern
Africa. World Vision Lesotho manages a program called Child Health Now which
undertakes advocacy work to ensure children under 5 receive a high standard of
medical care. Its focus is on dehydration, immunisations and nutrition. World Vision
Lesotho also has Congregation Hope for Action teams in the communities who care for
the infected and affected children. Many support groups exist at the community level to
provide basic health care for those infected with HIV.
Progress
Visits to health clinics are free of charge to all children in Lesotho. This is an enormous
improvement to access to services.
The high rates of HIV and AIDS in Lesotho has lead to the receipt of a bulk of donor
funding for the care of people infected, for instance from Millennium Challenge Account