Lesotho: Our Impact

More than 180,000 vulnerable children in Lesotho, a mountainous country, are in need of essential services such as health care, access to education, and psychosocial support. Nutritional deficiencies and conditions are a challenge because of widespread poverty, food insecurity, and inadequate access to services. In addition, community health workers, health facilities, and local civil society organizations sometimes lack basic equipment to assess child nutritional status.

In rural Lesotho, Momotaung wakes up early to prepare for a trip to the hospital for her checkup, a hospital two hours away from her home. On her way, she stops to pick up an elderly neighbor’s child, a three-year-old orphan named Sabelo---one of 12 siblings and cousins being cared for by their grandmother. She collects three other children from the village also needing care at the hospital.

Laboratory services are a necessary but sometimes neglected element of a strong health system. From disease control and surveillance to patient diagnosis and care, laboratories are central to public health. Where laboratory services, policies or strategy are lacking, a comprehensive systems approach can improve a nation's infrastructure and capacity to manage and finance laboratory systems.MSH spoke with Dr.