PROJECTS in LESOTHO
Improving maternal and infant health
For many people Africa is a very hot, dry place where people are victims of conflict and children suffering from malnutrition.
Lesotho is different..... This little independent Kingdom with a population of 2.2 million, is fully surrounded by South Africa. The lowest elevation is 1400 m above sea level with a peak of 3400 m. As you already can see this is a unique environment with very specific challenges (e.g. snow in winter) especially related to access to health care. Many patients are walking more than 8 h in the mountain terrain to the nearest health center who are manned by nurse/midwives and trained nursing assistants in the mountains.
Lesotho has the second highest HIV prevalence, 23 % globally after Botswana (estimated 360,000 people living with the disease), extreme high maternal mortality rate (620/100,000 WHO) and high infant mortality rate 92/1000 WHO).
While maternal care is free at the primary health care level (no fees when attending services at the health center) women and children still have to pay fees at the district hospital. Many women do not have a choice because close to district hospitals there are rarely health centers, first time mothers are not allowed to deliver their babies in the health center or they do have a complication what does require higher level of care. Many women are not able to pay for the fees and are forced to deliver at home; risking their own and their baby's live.
Recently an international NGO demonstrated at one pilot district hospital, that abolishing user fees for maternal and infant care increased facility based deliveries by nearly 50%. This pilot also showed better outcome for infants with reduction of still births.
Sadly this intervention has stopped and we do feel that this success must continue and the ministry of health has to adopt this model to implement it country wide.
Beside continuing to offer free obstetric and neonatal care in the hospital we also working on a uniformed training program for doctors in the hospital (mainly generalists) and midwives in the district hospital and health centers based on the Advanced Life Support in Obstetric program.
Addressing HIV challenges amongst the youth
Semonkong is a town high up in the mountains (2 275 m above sea level) in Maseru district. While there is access to the capital Maseru on a recently good built road (around 3 h by public transport) only few young people can afford paying for transport to go there to have exposure to information .
Primary schools are free in Lesotho but for secondary school parents have to pay. Not everybody can afford it. There is only little to do for the children and the youth after school and at the weekends.
With the high HIV rate in the country and also a high pregnancy rate amongst teenagers, we are working with the community to identify a land where we can build a library. Beside books, we also want to have an internet corner (nothing like that currently exists).
Beside the objective to give youth the opportunity to enjoy reading and information we also will educate them on the importance of HIV prevention, HIV counseling and testing, linking HIV positive people timely into care, sexual and reproductive health rights and responsibilities.