On November 20, 2019, Her Majesty Queen ‘Masenate Mohato Seeiso launched the second Lesotho Population-based HIV Impact Assessment survey (LePHIA 2020).
Reflecting on the HIV response at the launch event, Queen ‘Masenate commended the nation’s progress but urged public health officials to close existing gaps – particularly in rising new HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women.
The launch event included participation from survey partners, including the Lesotho Ministry of Health, the Lesotho Bureau of Statistics, the U.S. Embassy to Lesotho, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control for Prevention (CDC), ICAP among others. Attendees visited simulation gazebos to experience different aspects of the survey including community mobilization, data collection and laboratory activities.
Since the launch, data collectors spread across the country, working with communities and households to capture the latest information regarding HIV and the response to it.
In February 2020, Queen ‘Masenate, U.S. Ambassador Rebecca Gonzales, and Deputy Minister of Health ‘Manthabiseng Phohleli conducted a site visit to a LePHIA 2020 enumeration area.
Encouraging the people of Lesotho to participate in LePHIA 2020, Ambassador Gonzales said: “To each Mosotho man and woman: thank you for being courageous. Thank you for being honest. Step up – be a champion for Lesotho, be a champion for yourself. Because in providing this information and being honest, you are saving your own life and you are saving Basotho lives.” The Ambassador reinforced the importance of the LePHIA 2020 survey to help understand progress made and additional work needed to achieve epidemic control.
Key findings from LePHIA 2020 will be announced by World AIDS Day 2020. For more information and updates, visit: https://phia.icap.columbia.edu/countries/Lesotho.
