Stakeholders in HIV and AIDS convened on 27 May 2009 for the annual HIV and AIDS Partnership Forum to jointly assess progress and performance for the fiscal year 2008/2009. The forum provide opportunity to review implementation of the Annual Operational Plan, which is drawn form the National Strategic Plan.

In his welcome remarks, the NAC Board Health commissioner Dr. ‘Molotsi Monyamane indicated that HIV and AIDS is dynamic thus different players should exercise their different talents in order to overcome the pandemic. He urged all to put minds together on how to fund the AIDS scourge, and indicated that Lesotho’s donors and development partners can only extend a helping hand where there is initiative. Dr. Monyamane promised stakeholders that NAC would respond more efficiently to the needs of stakeholders.

The forum was graced by the presence of the First Lady Mrs ‘Mathato Mosisili, who on behalf of the Honourable Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, officially opened the forum. She highlighted that the annual forum was a platform for all stakeholders to look back and take stock of their work throughout the year, whether it was aligned to agreed plans, and identify gaps for remedial action. According to her, the main challenge for the country regarding HIV and AIDS was to stop new infections whilst also focusing on mitigating the impact of the scourge and provision of treatment. The First Lady also challenged participants to ask themselves whether their interventions were making any impact, looking at the high prevalence rate we still have as a country.

One important issue that the First Lady raised was the lack of comprehensive, consistent reporting by implementing partners. This she said created a problem in that it compromised the decision making process, as it relied totally on evidence. “It is important for the Government of Lesotho to know the full picture of the epidemic, thus the need for everyone working in the field of HIV and AIDS to report. This would enable us to know where to focus our efforts and whether there is any progress”, she said.

The forum kick started with a presentation on the national response by the NAC Director of Policy Strategy and Communication Mr. Motlalepula Khobotlo, which provided progress made in implementing the Annual National HIV and AIDS Operational Plan 2008/09. It also provided a picture of how far the country was in addressing the 2006 – 2011 National HIV and AIDS Strategic Plan as per the set targets.

Management and coordination

The key achievements regarding the policy environment were reflected as Enactment of the Legal Capacity of Married Persons Act and dissemination; the National HIV and AIDS Policy and the National HIV and AIDS Strategic Plan 2006 – 2011 both having been translated to Sesotho and disseminated; National guidelines for workplace policies developed, translated to Sesotho and disseminated; and the national Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) Strategy completed. Under resource mobilization, the country was able to negotiate Global Fund Round 8 proposal of USD$121,669,572 for 5years, signed off the 5 year Millennium Challenge Compact worth US $122 million over 5 years and submitted a proposal to the World Bank. Resources were further mobilized internally and stakeholders pledged in various ways for different activities.

Prevention

Under the prevention thematic area, the areas covered included Behaviour Change Communication, HTC, PMTCT, Blood and Tissue Safety, Condom Programming, Life Skills for youth, Treatment of STIs, and Universal precautions and PEP. In terms of behavior change communication, key achievements included the finalization of the BCC Strategy, the One Love campaign launched, the Red Ribbon Media Award re-established. Initiatives on the other mentioned areas continued and much improvement was seen amid challenges that need to be addressed such as harmonization of activities at all levels to reduce avoiding duplication of efforts and effective involvement of leadership at all levels.

Treatment, care and support

Areas covered under treatment, care and support were ART, TB/HIV and Home Based Care (HBC). The number of people getting access to ART is on the increase while the number of people receiving HBC gradually in creased from April to December by decreased in the last quarter of the fiscal year. However, in this regard there were challenges of severe shortages in the health sector, limited access to essential drugs, Inadequate/weak laboratory capacity to diagnose and monitor the people receiving ART therapy in some centers; and lack of electronic patient monitoring system for follow-up visits and defaulters.

Impact mitigation

Impact mitigation covered OVC, PLWHAs, Women and Girls, Prisoners, Sex Workers and Herd Boys. Progress throughout the year revealed that more OVC were assisted between October and December. Interventions on PLWHA, women and children, herd boys and people with disabilities continued and resource were mobilized for HIV prevention among sex workers. A situational analysis for the Lesotho Correctional Service was finalized.

Other presentations of the day included the situational analysis of the Correctional Service, which was intended to shed light to other stakeholders regarding the HIV and AIDS situation in correctional service department. The findings that were shared were derived from the situational assessment that was done in preparation of policy and strategic plan development.

A presentation on the BCC Strategy and the process of its development was provided before it was officially launched. Another presentation was on the NSP review, which updated stakeholders on the ongoing review process and the deliverables realized so far. The presentation highlighted how the review process unfolded and also highlighted on how the revised NSP is structured.

One presentation worth noting was on Condom programming by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. The presentation shed light on condom use- benefits and lessons learnt. It also looked at condom programming in Lesotho- challenges and achievements.