Last week in this column I looked at Vision 2020 and some of the goals it set. I also acknowledged that the implementation of Vision 2020 was a dismal failure. In that article I wrote about stability and peace. In this article I would like to look at the goals that the country had set and wanted to achieve in the health sector by the year 2020. I will just pick a few that I think will be more relevant to the current status in the health sector in Lesotho.
With regard to health, Vision 2020 promised that by the year 2020, Lesotho would have:
l Good health system which would be accessible to all Basotho irrespective of their level of income, disability or geographical location
l There would be provision of great service by well-trained health personnel
l All Basotho would be conscious of healthy lifestyles and would engage in sporting and recreational activities and
l There would be sporting facilities throughout the country to ensure that Lesotho becomes a leading country in sports.
This description paints a picture that was meant to give Basotho hope of a life of milk and honey, a life that they only read about or see in movies and soapies. Unfortunately, it remained a pipe dream that was never realised.
We are at the beginning of 2020 and instead of having any progress, we have regressed a lot as a country. I am very interested in reading the report on the evaluation of the Lesotho Vision 2020, if there will ever be one.
l How many health facilities does Lesotho have in the remotest areas of the country?
l Do those facilities have adequate resources to offer quality health care? That is do they have enough health personnel and medical supplies?
l Are Basotho now conscious of healthy lifestyles and are now engaging in recreational activities?
l Is Lesotho a leading sporting country?
I bet my last loti that I will never get an answer to all of the above questions in the affirmative. All the answers I will get will be a definitive no. As it stands our health facilities are a mess. A few months ago, there were squabbles regarding the services provided by our only referral hospital and its subsidiary clinics. The services offered at these facilities are a torture to Basotho as they have to wake up at the break of dawn for them to access health services. Waking up late means a Mosotho will not access the needed medical attention.
Moreover, Lesotho has for some time now been faced with a serious shortage of live-saving ARV drugs. The Ministry is even thinking of seeking alternative ways to get the ARV’s. A country like Lesotho, whose HIV prevalence has in recent years seen an increase instead of a decline has no business toying around with the issue of ARVs. They have a mandate to ensure adequate supply at all times without giving any excuse.
There is one clinic that is strategically situated close to town that is not operating because “there is no electricity.” The problem at this clinic has been ongoing for some time now. This means many people that were getting services at this clinic now have to seek alternative centres to get health services. I wonder if that is still in the spirit of the Vision 2020 which promised unhindered access to health services.
Lastly, there was the vision to create lots of sporting facilities in Lesotho. I think this one is the joke of the century. Just last year our netball team was beaten by every Tom, Dick and Harry at the games held in South Africa. How can we be an excellent sporting country if we can’t even beat one country? I will even not talk about the national football team Likuena.
Moreover we are expected to hold the Region 5 Youth Games this year. As it stands, we do not have adequate facilities to hold such games. Unfortunately, even the attempt by the Ministry responsible for sports to construct facilities is riddled with so many allegations of corruption by those responsible.
The construction of the players’ village at NUL does not seem to be making progress as the builders allege they have not been paid for the phases that were completed. This happens despite Lesotho setting a goal that by the year 2020 the country will be adorned with sporting facilities. As it stands, we still call the miniature Setsoto Stadium our national stadium. In some countries stadiums of that size are used by village teams. We really need to get our health sector in order because a healthy nation is a productive nation.
Kelello Rakolobe
