MANTŠALI PHAKOANA and RELEBOHILE KHOALE Basotho are gradually dumping norms blamed for rising Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) statistics in initiation schools. Initiation schools’ common practices like sharing of razor-blades are shunned and infected initiates now continue their treatment while undergoing traditional training. According to Basotho culture, initiation is a form of training that boys undergo to become

KEISO MOHLOBOLI It is now 31 years since the first World AIDS Day was commemorated in 1988 at the height of the AIDS pandemic. The Day was calculated to create awareness around HIV and AIDS, promote potential cures and remember the lives lost to the disease. But while 23-year-old Neo Ntaote is happy with the way antiretroviral (ARV)

BILLY NTAOTE Lesotho’s male population largely remains reluctant to visit health-centres or even take HIV tests, which present challenges in the country’s fight against HIV and AIDS. In some instances, men prefer to have their spouses take the HIV test and then assume their status would be the same as their partners’. But this norm is fast-changing

MANTŠALI PHAKOANA Lesotho’s adolescents between the ages of 10 and 24 years are among the people most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS due to poor healthcare, lack of family support, non-acceptance of long-term treatment and non-disclosure of their HIV-status to peers and family. It is this challenge that the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation (EGPAF) recommends can be

MANTŠALI PHAKOANA The silence is ominous-many young people living with HIV are afraid to share their status with the media or even their friends, classmates, and teachers. You cannot be too sure how others will react to news that someone they know is living with HIV—the virus that causes the incurable AIDS over time. Yet Lesotho’s

MANTŠALI PHAKOANA In its commitment to support Lesotho’s efforts to reduce the spread of HIV and Tuberculosis (TB), Jhpiego has since broadened its Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) services under a three-year project codenamed THEBE. THEBE is an acronym for Prevention of HIV and TB in Lesotho through Evidence-Based Interventions and Education THEBE commenced in July

SECHABA MOKHETHI MOHALE’S HOEK — HIV-positive Basotho living in Qhalasi constituency in Mohale’s Hoek are enjoying the benefits of subscribing to Community ART Groups (CAGs) as a way of combating the challenges related to replenishing their medication. Mohale’s Hoek is Lesotho’s leading district on HIV-prevalence at 29.3-percent as noted by the Lesotho Population-Based HIV Impact Assessment (LePHIA)

'MAJIRATA LATELA Matheriso Nike (41) of Ha Mojakhomo in Mohale’s Hoek district has urged fellow Basotho to test for HIV before they become too sick and find it too difficult to embark on AntiRetroViral (ARV) drugs. Nike told the MNN Center for Investigative Journalism (Centre) that once a person suspects that he or she is infected with

MANTŠALI PHAKOANA Being told you are HIV-positive is one of the most difficult experiences anyone could go through in life. One might feel scared, sad or even angry and all these emotions are a normal, and completely natural, part of coping with something that could change your life forever. However, sharing personal stories about the Human Immunodeficiency

MAJIRATA LATELA “Our HIV-status does not determine the love that we have for each other,” says 22-year-old HIV-positive Thapelo Majoro. Majoro is the  Managing Director (MD) for the Barefoot Walking Campaign and is enrolled in a multimedia and software engineering programme at the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology. Majoro and his girlfriend are both infected with the