Study Finds Lesotho Needs More Men In Community Health Jobs

From October 21–22, officials from Lesotho's Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the HIV Directorate met with key stakeholders from government, civil society and the donor community to review results from a Capacity Project study on the role of men as providers of HIV/AIDS care in Lesotho. Currently, 92% of community and home-based care (CHBC) workers are women, and the demand for care is far outstripping the capacity of the workforce. The study team interviewed 25 district officials, health-center nurses and village chiefs, and held 31 focus groups with 244 community members and people living with HIV. Several key recommendations emerged from the study: the Ministry should work with partners to create policies and strategies to promote equitable sharing of the burden of HIV/AIDS care and actively recruit men to CHBC; these policies should strongly support the women and girls already doing this work; and supplies and nonmonetary incentives should be made available to CHBC workers.

The Capacity Project is an IntraHealth-led initiative aimed at strengthening human resources for health through improving workforce policies and planning, developing better education and training programs for the workforce and strengthening systems to support workforce performance.