The Minister of Health, Mr. Semano Sekatle welcomed the first Lesotho Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (LePHIA) that was handed over by the United States Ambassador to Lesotho, Mrs. Maria Brewer at an event held in Maseru on Friday.
Mrs. Brewer said they would not have done an excellent job if it was not because of Her Majesty Queen ‘Masenate Mohato Bereng Seeiso for her unwavering support of the project.
She also thanked the government of Lesotho through the Ministry of Health for the support to make the project a success, saying the technical assistance that the ministry provided was much appreciated.
She said it was not easy running the project in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic which made their work difficult, however saying they are thankful that the public was cooperating and understood the importance of giving out information that was needed from them.
She assured the government of Lesotho that America will continue to provide support whenever there is a need to combat the spread of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and reduce new infections.
Mrs. Brewer concluded by commenting Lesotho for reaching the 90-90-90- target and now working towards the 95-95-95 target which is expected to be reached by 2025.
The ICAP Regional PHIA Director Miss. Pitt Blanche said ICAP in Lesotho is supporting the Ministry of Health in strengthening strategic information for health by providing technical assistance and resources to its national health system.
She said they are glad that Lesotho has achieved 55 percent of the viral suppression among young people aged between 15 to 34 years, saying this is recommendable.
She announced that ICAP will continue to support the government of Lesotho in the fight against HIV/AIDS pandemic by working towards the 95-95-95 target by 2025.
Accepting the Report, the Minister of Health, Mr. Semano Sekatle thanked all health partners who have been committed in the fight against HIV/AIDS pandemic since the first reported case in Lesotho.
He said with the era of viruses that attack people nowadays, they need committed nurses and doctors in this fight, saying even to the ministry’s partners, they want people who are willing to work with no other interests.
LePHIA was conducted between November 2016 and May 2017 to measure the status of the national HIV response. The survey team visited over 10,000 households, interviewed participants and provided HIV counselling and testing.
In 2019 a second LePHIA 2020 survey was launched by the Ministry of Health to assess the country’s progress toward HIV epidemic control.
Source: LENA 02/09/2022
