AIDS in Lesotho

HIV/AIDS IS STILL A PANDEMIC

IN LESOTHO DUE TO POVERTY

Early 2009, it has been discovered that Lesotho is the 2nd country in the World having high rate of children born with HIV/AIDS.
Projects have begun to mobilize all pregnant Women to test for HIV/AIDS and there is an access for treatment if needed.

In 2007 church leaders met at the United Nations House in Maseru to discuss the role of the church in addressing HIV and AIDS. During this meeting, it was unanimously agreed that the church must join together in the fight against the disease.  It was also recognized that the church and church leaders have a substantial role to play in guiding our congregations and preventing the further spread of HIV across the country.

At the end of this initial meeting, the church leaders decided that we needed to reduce HIV stigma and discrimination, address cultural divides, and promote morality, and use existing structures and build-up current HIV related programs. Subsequently, a “Statement of Commitment” was drafted and reviewed by the church leaders that would fully commit ourselves to the fight against HIV and AIDS.  The “Statement of Commitment” called on all church leaders to:

• Promote the dignity, equality, and rights of all people, especially those living with HIV;
• Discuss openly and accurately the basic facts about HIV and AIDS ;
• Work to eliminate the root causes of the AIDS pandemic; and
• Overcome silence, stigma, discrimination, denial, and fear regarding AIDS.

The church recognizes that the information and discussion topics must be relevant not only to Lesotho, but also target the various age groups within our congregations.

In recognition of this need, the church leaders decided to develop the Sunday Pack. This information material was launched during World AIDS Day in December 2007, [this] Sunday Pack was presented and distributed to church leaders as a tool for pastors and priests to present topics relating to HIV and AIDS.  The Sunday Pack covers a wide range of topics and offers church leaders references to scripture, relevant facts on various issues, real life situations, discussion points, and references to the church leader’s “Statement of Commitment.” 

With funding from the United States Government and the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, the church and members of its Advisory Committee developed the “Faith-based HIV Prevention Campaign.”  The goal of this Campaign is to “Reduce the risk of HIV exposure in Lesotho” through the development of a training programs and messages focusing on the main nationally recognized drivers of HIV in Lesotho, including, 1) multiple and concurrent partnerships, 2) trans-generational sex, and 3) early sexual debut.

To complement the Churches commitment to initiate a faith based response to HIV epidemic in the country CRS and the LCBC, with generous support from UNICEF developed yet another innovative project called HIV Education, for Adolescents Response, Motivation and Empowerment-also known as HEAR ME project. This project not only promotes environment for reducing the risk of HIV among the adolescents in Lesotho, it also aims at addressing the issues related to gender based violence in the community.

The church has a major role to play with regard to HIV and Gender based violence by promoting a moral, just, and loving society that is committed to the service of man and the establishment of strong family values. 

HOLY FAMILY SISTERS RESPONSE TO HIV/AIDS IN LESOTHO.

Closely working with Lesotho Catholic Bishops Conference, One sister is delegated to Coordinate 50 Catholic health Centres and four Hospitals Moreover all the projects working on HIV/AIDS in Lesotho Catholic Bishops are under her supervision.

The other one is   delegated to be part of staff working on HEAR ME PROJECT. The target group of this project is the Adolescents therefore it is implemented in 285 Catholic schools from children of 10 years to youth of 25 years.

Trainings of HIV/AIDS prevention have been made in different schools and clubs have been
 organized, due to final examinations in schools trainings will be stopped until the beginning of the year 2010.

These  services provided at our six  Holy Family Health Centres  

• Counseling and testing for HIV/AIDS
• Providing ARV`S
• Follow up for those on treatment
• Prevention from Mother to Child Transmission. Through Mothers to Mothers
• Support groups for those living with HIV/AIDS
• Provision of cooked food for those on TB and HIV/AIDS treatment
• Out Patients and Under five Children

These tasks mentioned above seemed not enough therefore the Congregation decided to have a project where all HIV/AIDS victims will be well cared for and where they will be trained on how to improve their spiritual and economical lives. This health Centre is not yet completed, it will be opened soon.

CHALLENGES:

• The unfortunate part is that the unaffected people wish to be infected in order to receive food parcels from the Government.  This is due to porverty.
• Young people fall in to the trap of prostitution due to porverty.
• The orphans are taken as a chance for the abuse and also these children have take care of themselves.
• No medications in the clinics because of  many people with opportunistic diseases / infections.