The Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho will soon start reviewing and where necessary, reforming national laws and policies as the country takes bold steps to ensure greater access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights, HIV and AIDS services for all her citizens.
Recent outreach and oversight missions to various health and correctional facilities in parts of Lesotho by Members of Parliament and Senators exposed gaps in the country’s SRHR, HIV and AIDS response which were negatively affecting some citizens, especially key populations.
The MPs and senators who belong to the Social Cluster, HIV and AIDS and Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) Committees in the National Assembly, met various people, including sex workers and members of the LGBTI community.
They then compiled reports which they shared during unprecedented roundtable discussions with Cabinet Ministers and Permanent Secretaries of relevant line government ministries here last week.
In impassioned submissions, the lawmakers implored the ministers to take decisive steps to ensure the rights of all citizens, including key populations, were upheld so that universal access to SRHR, HIV and AIDS services becomes a reality.
The Minister of Justice, Human Rights and Correctional Services, Hon Mokhele Moletsane, one of the Ministers that received the reports, immediately took heed and promised action.
In an exclusive interview, the Minister commended the lawmakers for undertaking the oversight missions and for sharing their findings.
“This has been a very useful and important gathering where, as Ministers, MPs, Non-Governmental Organisations and government officials we interacted on very important issues of HIV and AIDS in relation to the so-called key populations,” he said.
He added that the meeting had enabled stakeholders to better appreciate the work that the SADC Parliamentary Forum was doing in responding to the global HIV and AIDS epidemic under the SRHR, HIV and AIDS Governance Project that Sweden and Norway are funding in seven SADC member-states, including Lesotho.
“The invitation by the Portfolio Committee to Ministries that are directly working with Key Populations (the Ministry of Justice, Human Rights and Correctional Services which deals with safe custody of inmates; Ministry of Gender; the Ministry of Health; and the Ministry of Social Development which is the custodian of vulnerable people) was well thought- out.”
He said the reports shared by the MPs and Senators had enabled him to better appreciate “the peculiar needs of prisoners, women and men who form a substantial part of the population in our prisons.”
The Minister added: “This was an eye-opener. We should always bear in mind that we don’t talk only of females and males in our population. We should remember that there is the LGBTI community. As we provide services, we should remember that they are part of the nation. Like everybody else, they have rights.” Read more via Herald