LEBEOANA Kholokholo, the Project Youth Officer at the Lesotho Planned Parenthood Association (LPPA) says owing to a high HIV prevalence among female sex workers along Lesotho borders, they are encouraging an amplified use of condoms and behavioural change in a bid to lower the HIV transmission rate.

The LPPA, a local body that offers family planning and management of sexually transmitted infections services is through the support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), a UN agency aimed at improving reproduction and maternal health worldwide, running a comprehensive HIV prevention programme called Along the borders.

The programme, according to Mr Kholokholo focuses on preventing HIV transmission and improved access to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) information and services along Lesotho’s three porous borders of Maseru, Maputsoe and Mafeteng.

“Through the UNFPA support, we are able to play a pivotal role in trying to contain the prevalence of HIV/AIDS,” he said.

He showed that there is high HIV prevalence among women, especially sex workers, adding that LPPA mainly serves three groups of people along the borders, including long distance drivers, sex workers and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Intersex and Queer (LGBTIQ+) community.

“In order to lower HIV statistics, we are currently running three programmes along the three borders, which are Condom Programming, which ensures that our clients make use of condoms, next is behavioural change, in which we engage the clients to see a change in behaviour that would lead to lowering HIV and then there is the referrals on the integrated services, in which our peer educators refer the clients to the LPPA clinic,” he also said.

He was quick to note that since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, they have not been able to reach the targeted number of clients, especially the long distance drivers due to the restricted movement across the borders with the neighbouring South Africa.

“However, this year there has been a significant change, in terms of the target reached, we are able to distribute condoms and pamphlets giving out information to the drivers,” he said.

“This project initiated by the UNFPA in collaboration with LPPA along Lesotho’s three borders of Maputsoe, Maseru and Mafeteng is proving to be quite productive now,” Mr Kholokholo added.

These are the busiest borders which are deemed highly porous and catalytic to transmission of new HIV infections, hence the project is targeting migrants, long distance truck drivers, youth and key populations along those borders.

This is done in a bid to intensify efforts towards preventing HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) amongst risk populations such as key populations, migrants and youth.

Thapelo Maja, a peer educator working on the project, said through the condom programming initiative, they managed to organise condom campaigns, making people aware of the correct consistent use of condoms.

What they usually encourage to the key populations which include long distance truck drivers,  sex workers and LGBTIQ+, she said is to give them an opportunity to have integrated services from LPPA.