page_title: HIV/AIDS in Lesotho
section_title: Health conditions
hierarchical_section_title: HIV/AIDS in Lesotho / Difficulties in treatment / Health conditions
caption_attribution_description: English: Prepping Mielie pap, the staple food in Lesotho This is an image of "African people at work" from Lesotho
context_page_description: HIV/AIDS in Lesotho constitutes a very serious threat to the Basotho people and Lesotho's economic development. Since its initial detection in 1986, HIV/AIDS has spread at alarming rates in Lesotho. In 2000, King Letsie III declared HIV/AIDS a natural disaster. According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS in 2016, Lesotho's adult prevalence rate of 25% is the second highest in the world, following Eswatini.
  HIV has affected the majority of the general population, while disproportionately affecting the rural, working-age population. The spread of HIV in Lesotho is compounded by cultural practices, serodiscordancy, and gender-based violence. Lack of developed sexual education programs in schools places the young demographic at increased risk of HIV infection.
  Over the past three decades, the Government of Lesotho, in collaboration with global organizations such as The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, World Health Organization, and President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, has dramatically improved HIV testing and treatment coverage through comprehensive program implementation.
context_section_description: Preexisting or concurrent health conditions, both communicable and chronic, can increase an individual's risk of HIV contraction as well as exacerbate the progression of the disease.
caption: A young boy preps Mielie pap, the staple food in Lesotho.
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