Over the next five years, the government of Lesotho, in partnership with Partners In Health (PIH), aims to detect and treat an additional 5,151 people with tuberculosis (TB) and significantly reduce TB prevalence in the country.
The initiative, estimated to cost $10 million (over M182 million), underscores PIH’s commitment to mobilising the necessary resources. This was announced by PIH Deputy Executive Director, Retšepile Tlali, during the National TB Day press conference this week.
Tlali highlighted that, in response to Lesotho’s ongoing TB crisis, Minister of Health Selibe Mochoboroane has issued a strong call to action for an aggressive national response. She reaffirmed PIH’s dedication to supporting the government’s efforts through a comprehensive strategy aimed at TB elimination.
“At the heart of this initiative is a simple yet powerful approach: Search, Treat, and Prevent. Our goal is ambitious but achievable, to eliminate TB by ensuring that every individual is tested once a year, every diagnosed patient receives prompt treatment, and every at-risk person gets the necessary preventive care,” Tlali stated.
The five-year initiative will continue to bridge service gaps in the seven PIH-supported health facilities, Nkau, Nohana, Bobete, Tlhanyaku, Manamaneng, Methalaneng, and Lebakeng, where the Search, Treat, and Prevent strategy has already been piloted with a 93 percent TB detection rate.
Expanding the program to Mohale’s Hoek, where an alarming 82 percent TB treatment gap exists, is a key priority. “This expansion will ensure that more people receive life-saving TB care and that no one is left behind,” Tlali added.
According to Tlali, the project’s success depends on a robust health system, driven by a well-trained and motivated workforce to implement community- and facility-based interventions, advanced TB diagnostic tools for detecting both active and latent TB infections, and a consistent supply of TB medications to prevent treatment disruptions.
It also depends on robust health system driven by greater community-level interventions to improve TB accessibility, innovative technology such as the TB Hunter System, a live data management tool for tracking treatment outcomes, and GIS mapping to identify TB hotspots, and addressing socio-economic barriers that hinder patients from completing TB treatment.
Lesotho’s TB Burden and Challenges.
Lesotho remains among the world’s 30 high-burden TB countries, with an alarming incidence rate of 664 cases per 100,000 people.
Ministry of Health Principal Secretary (PS) ‘Maneo Ntene noted that Lesotho’s TB treatment success rates currently stand at 80 percent for drug-sensitive TB and 74 percent for drug-resistant TB, both below the 90 percent target set by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
“The country’s TB detection rate is dangerously low, at only 42 percent, meaning 58 percent of cases remain undiagnosed and untreated, continuing to spread the disease. On average, a TB patient visits healthcare facilities at least three times before receiving a proper diagnosis. This delay, combined with health-seeking behaviour challenges, contributes to a 13 percent fatality rate and an additional 4 percent loss to follow-up cases,” she said.
TB continues to disproportionately affect men (68 percent), women (38 percent), and children (4 percent). Key vulnerable populations include people living with HIV, ex-miners, current miners and their households, factory workers, correctional service staff and inmates, healthcare workers, public transport operators, and smokers.
This year’s World TB Day theme, according to the WHO, is “Yes! We Can End TB: Commit, Invest, Deliver.”
“The theme presents an opportunity to reflect on ongoing efforts and strengthen commitments at local, national, and international levels to end TB, particularly by addressing the rising threat of drug-resistant TB,” WHO stated.
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