At a glance
CDC works with the Ministry of Health (MOH) and other partners to build effective public health collaboration and partnerships, which strengthen the country's core public health capabilities: data and surveillance, laboratory capacity, workforce and institutions, prevention and response, innovation and research, and policy, communications, and diplomacy.
Overview
CDC established an office in Lesotho in 2007. CDC Lesotho works closely with the Government of Lesotho and partner organizations to detect, prevent, and control infectious disease outbreaks, and build and strengthen the country's core public health capabilities. These include data and surveillance, laboratory capacity, workforce and institutions, prevention and response, innovation and research, and policy, communications, and diplomacy. CDC's work aims to protect the health of our nations and public health around the world. CDC Lesotho also works to address global health security, HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and border health.
Global health security
Laboratory systems
In collaboration with partners, CDC provides technical support to implement quality laboratory systems, diagnosis and monitoring tests, and new diagnostic technologies for HIV and TB, COVID-19, and other high-priority diseases. CDC also helps strengthen local workforce capacities for effective coordination of laboratory programs to improve the quality of services like testing and sample transportation.
Emergency response
CDC's longstanding partnerships and investments in laboratory systems and disease surveillance enabled Lesotho to leverage existing infrastructure to respond to COVID-19 and other health threats. CDC Lesotho supports access and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, disease surveillance, and outbreak control, and robust reporting of COVID-19 cases to information systems.
CDC also collaborated with WHO to provide technical guidance on the rational use of personal protective equipment and development of IPC training.
Key achievements
- Lesotho's National Reference Laboratory received a five-star rating in 2021 from the African Society for Laboratory Medicine.
- CDC helped partners increased demand for COVID-19 vaccines through risk communication and community engagement activities across ten districts.
HIV and TB
As a key implementer of the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), CDC plays an essential role in the fight against HIV and TB. With unmatched scientific and technical knowledge and long-standing relationships with ministries of health, CDC is uniquely positioned to advance HIV, TB, and other global health security activities that keep Americans safe at home and abroad.
Through PEPFAR, CDC provides critical support to Lesotho's public health infrastructure, improving the country's ability to prevent, detect, and respond to HIV, TB, and other infectious diseases and minimizing their risk from entering the U.S.
