Overview
The Kingdom of Lesotho is a small, mountainous country entirely surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. The country has a fragile multi-party democracy.
Lesotho has a temperate climate. It normally receives 85% of its average rainfall of 700mm from October to April, with highest average of 1200mm recorded in the mountain region, and low averages of 500mm recorded in the Senqu River valley. Precipitation has become highly irregular, resulting in long spells of drought and other hazardous conditions. Rainfall is often marked by heavy torrents which, in turn, cause severe soil erosion. Snowfall is common in the mountains during the very cold winter months. The lowest temperature ever recorded is – 21 degrees Celsius and the highest 38.5 degrees Celsius. Lesotho is prone to severe drought due to variable weather conditions such as drought, snowfall, hailstorms, strong winds and localized floods.
Lesotho is one of the world’s least developed countries. External debt has been rising as a percentage of Gross National Product (standing at 43.2% in 1996) as a consequence of the fluctuation of the South African Rand, to which the Loti is tied, against the major currencies over the past several years.
Unemployment remains high at 45% (2003 estimates), and is one of the most serious problems facing Lesotho. Household income, which was once supplemented by remittances from Basotho employed in South African mines, is falling due to the retrenchment of mine workers. As a result, poverty and malnutrition are particularly pronounced, mainly in the country’s rural areas. An estimated 16.3% of the children under the age of five are underweight (WFP, 2003).
Key Humanitarian Challenges:
Lesotho is threatened by a humanitarian emergency that combines HIV and AIDS with chronic food shortages. Only 10 percent of the mountainous country is fit for cultivation. HIV and AIDS remains the most serious of all Lesotho’s development challenges. According to the HIV/Syphilis Sentinel Survey Report 2005, an estimated 23.2% of the adult population (15-49 years) is HIV positive, and this makes Lesotho the third worst affected country in the world.
The pandemic is contributing significantly to a rapid downturn in life expectancy, reduced productivity and poorer service delivery in all sectors. It has worsened household poverty, broken down family structures, and increased the number of orphans and child-headed households.
HIV/AIDS has a disproportionate effect on women and children. Of the 265,000 adults living with HIV/AIDS in 2005, 131,230 were women. Young women between the ages of 15 and 29 are particularly affected, as they constitute almost 75 percent of all the reported AIDS cases in the age group. Presently, 15,600 children of the 0-14 age group were reported to be infected with HIV. Some children drop out of school to care for ill family members while others are often made victims of physical and sexual abuse. As the number of infections continues to rise, so does the number of Orphan and Vulnerable Children (OVCs).
Lesotho is prone to severe drought due to variable weather conditions such as drought, snowfall, hailstorms, strong winds and localized floods. Drought has caused overgrazing in marginal areas, resulting in severe soil exhaustion and erosion, with desertification in some areas, which all undermine food security. In 2007, the country experienced the worst drought in the last 30 years, which slashed the staple maize crop harvest by more than 40%. As a result, more than 500,000 were in need of food emergency food aid.
Other hazards faced include:
· Strong winds and hailstorms;
· Pest infestations such as locusts and termites;
· Increase in industrial waste and fires, and
· Anthrax outbreaks affecting livestock and humans.