LHDA strengthens community resilience
Delivers vital resources to Mokhotlong’s health and education sectors
LINEO MALATALIANA
MASERU – In a significant stride toward community empowerment, the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) this week handed over critical assistive devices to the Ministries of Health (MoH) and Education (MoET) at Polihali, Mokhotlong.
This initiative, part of the Public Health Action Plan grant under Phase 2 of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), underscores LHDA’s commitment to ensuring communities impacted by the project receive tangible benefits.
The Public Health Action Plan signals the LHDA’s proactive approach to sustainable development. Future phases may expand partnerships with local stakeholders, prioritizing long-term community health and education outcomes.
Key donations equipping frontline workers given in the handover included 90 000 copies of Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) materials to bolster health awareness campaigns, two weight-scales for accurate patient health monitoring, particularly vital for maternal and child health programmes, 11 laptops to enhance data management and reporting capabilities for local health and education offices.
Included also were 427 pairs of hiking boots for village health workers, enabling safer mobility across Mokhotlong’s rugged terrain.
Aligning with broader development goals, the donation aligns with LHWP Phase II’s objective to mitigate the project’s socio-environmental impacts while uplifting local communities. By focusing on health and education, the LHDA addresses systemic challenges in Mokhotlong, a district central to the water project’s infrastructure.
Speaking at the event, MoH Communication Specialist, Baroane Phenithi, indicated that the IECs were developed and tested in the very communities it is meant to serve.
“The importance of IEC material in health promotion is to impart new information,” Phenithi said.
He also showed that these materials were developed in consideration of cultural sensitivity and inclusive of all literacy levels.
LHDA Public Health Nurse, ‘Makapa Kampong, demonstrated how the authority undertook studies to look into how the areas within the LHWP Phase II will be affected and what measures to put into place to insure good health.
“The LHDA took introspection as this is not the first project of this magnitude and found that particularly in Mokhotlong there is a high dropout rate of students in schools, an increase in the rate of teenage pregnancy, early childhood marriage and inadequate healthcare equipment in facilities,” Kampong said.
She also pointed out that 66 percent of the population in Mokhotlong is made up of young adults 30 years and younger.
This, she pointed out, is the backbone of the economy.
A recipient of the hiking boots, ‘Manahano Mokhonoane, said the equipment they have received will go a long way in their work and promised that they will continue to advocate the importance of adequate health care to their clients and communities they work within.
LHDA is committed in the partnership with the MoH and is ready to work over how both can be of assistance to village workers by providing necessary incentives.
Polihali Operations Branch Manager, Gerald Mokone, said “thus far the LHDA has paid forward upwards of M9.5 million in health care initiatives since 2022.”
The Director Primary Health, Dr Llang Maama, thanked the LHDA for their tireless efforts in partnering with them.
“Do not forget that the country is faced with a TB pandemic and when studies in health care are undertaken by the authority this should be the focus,” Maama cautioned the LHDA.
“The ministry is making it a priority for the school calendar to have at least four healthcare days,” Chief Education Officer, Dr Jone Maole, said.
He thanked the LHDA for their effort improving the lives of learners through its various initiatives.
“This equipment should be taken care of and used appropriately for what it is meant,” he said this as caution to the school principals who were present at the handover.
He also pointed out that they are working hard linking health services with education to ensure that leaners are given priority in facilities to ensure that they do not spend unnecessary time out of the classroom.
Mokhotlong District Attorney, Kepa Keqe, said that he wish that the effort does not become a white elephant, citing that he has witnessed other projects die out due to lack of follow up and maintenance.
By equipping Mokhotlong’s frontline workers with tools for success, the LHDA bridges the gap between large-scale infrastructure and grassroots needs.
This initiative not only addresses immediate challenges but also lays the groundwork for resilient, empowered communities as the LHWP progresses.
