Treatment Literacy Project

The outreach programme makes use of the Community Media Trust/Siyayinqoba Beat it! HIV Prevention and Treatment Literacy series. This manual and DVD series is designed to give TLPPs information on HIV treatment, prevention, and care. According to CMT, the audiovisual kits that come with the training materials are especially popular. In particular, where literacy levels are low, TLPPs have noted that participants ask more questions when the audiovisual kits are used. The TLPPs have indicated that one of their biggest challenges lies in accessing the very remote areas, where the local mountain people travel only on foot or by horse because of the rugged terrain.

HIV/AIDS

The Lesotho government launched its national programme to provide free antiretroviral therapy in 2004, and, by December 2005, around 8,400 people were receiving treatment. Lesotho's attempts to provide national antiretroviral treatment were held back by shortages in healthcare staff. This shortage meant that Lesotho's target to treat 27,000 people by 2005 could not be attained. By December 2007, only 22,000 Basotho were able to access treatment.

However, in recent years, Lesotho has made significant progress in treatment scale-up. By the end of 2008, the number of people receiving antiretroviral drugs was double that of 2007. A total of 104 sites were providing antiretroviral therapy which included sites in remote parts of the country.

The CMT/ADRA outreach programme began in December 2009 in Lesotho and, according to the organisers, by January 2010, there were many requests for treatment literacy sessions. Currently, the sessions are conducted for male and female prisoners, female support groups, schools, mobile clinic sites, youth groups, and for local chiefs. ADRA has since received more requests from other schools, the police service, the correctional service department, and even a musical choir.