Foreign Country Focus and Country Contact:
Lesotho (Southern Africa)
Honorable Dr. Motloheloa Phooko
Minister of Health & Social Welfare

S.H.I.P. Aid has agreed in principle with the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Honorable Dr. Motloheloa Phooko, to establish a partnership for the purposes of assisting the residents of Lesotho with the necessary items to ensure a more healthy and functional lifestyle.  The Government of Lesotho will process all customs issues to ensure prompt delivery of goods to those most in need.

Why Lesotho?

  • Lesotho, one of the poorest countries in Africa, has been ravaged by the HIV/AIDS virus

  • The Government of Lesotho has declared a “State of Famine” – environmental and economic conditions have taken a toll upon the citizens of Lesotho

  • At the end of 2001, HIV prevalence rose to 31%

  • Lesotho is ranked 127th out of 162 countries on the UN Development Program Index, and is classified under the group of the poorest countries in the world

  • As of 2003 approximately 100,000 orphans (ages 0 to 17, due to AIDS)

  • Lesotho has the fourth largest AIDS population in the world

  • The insurgence of HIV/AIDS has paralyzed Lesotho's workforce

  • AIDS is claiming the lives of workers in commercial agriculture. The food shortage has resulted in people that are HIV positive being unable to receive the full and well-balanced diets needed to extend their lives, and boost immune systems to fight off diseases