LESOTHO is part of the 10 lower and middle-income countries where the USAID has advanced its “test-treat programming” for populations at high-risk of severe illness from COVID-19.

On September 23 at the Global Action Plan (GAP) Ministerial on the margins of the 77th United Nations General Assembly, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, (UN) Linda Thomas-Greenfield announced that the USAID had advanced its programming in two important areas across twenty lower-and middle-income countries.

The other nine countries included in the programme comprise Bangladesh, Botswana, Côte d’Ivoire, El Salvador, Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, and Senegal.

Lesotho is also included in the second initiative that will expand access to lifesaving oxygen supplies in more than a dozen countries.

The other countries identified include Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Ghana, Jamaica, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, Tanzania, Vietnam and Zambia.

Test-to-treat programming prepares health systems, health workers, and communities to make rapid COVID-19 testing broadly accessible for people to get tested as soon as they develop COVID-19 symptoms.

It then ensures that those at highest risk of severe illness can access key oral treatment options early in their COVID-19 illness to prevent severe disease and hospitalisation. Integrating test-to-treat programming strengthens health systems’ capacities to quickly identify new infections and initiate appropriate treatment in high-risk patients.

Treating sick patients while they are still at home and before they get too sick can reduce severe COVID-19 illness and death, and reduce the burden on health systems.

At the Second Global COVID-19 Summit in May 2022, USAID had announced a $20 million investment in piloting test-to-treat programming and other ancillary support.

USAID’s announcement that it and its implementing partners will be working with Ministries of Health, civil society, healthcare workers, and others such as The Global Fund in the 10 identified countries to pilot test-to-treat programming marks exciting progress.

The best practices and lessons learned from these efforts will help countries develop plans to scale up their programmes on a national level, and can be shared with countries around the world, including the United States. The pilots will position countries to act quickly in the case of a surge in COVID-19 cases.

As a global leader in supporting increased access to lifesaving oxygen in health facilities that lack this critical medical supply, USAID’s holistic approach to expanding access to oxygen focuses on health systems’ needs.

This includes training healthcare workers and building the engineering and logistics capacity of countries to operate and maintain these oxygen systems for the long term.