In October 2025, a group of young Basotho came together to take ownership of the country’s future. Convened and facilitated by the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s office, the National Youth Dialogue on Advancing the SDGs brought together 24 youth representatives from different districts, professions, and advocacy spaces. Their aim was to reflect on Lesotho’s progress following its Third Voluntary National Review, and to contribute concrete recommendations that align with the global Pact for the Future, a commitment to leave no one behind and ensure a peaceful, just, and sustainable world for generations to come. During the dialogue, young people critically examined key national challenges, from mental health and gender inequality to unemployment, climate change, and governance. They raised urgent concerns about Lesotho’s high suicide rates, the exclusion of women from land ownership, the absence of financing for youth-led innovation, and the growing impact of environmental degradation. Yet their tone was not of despair, but of responsibility and determination. “We as young people have a role to play in the kind of Lesotho we one day would like to see. We cannot wait for change; we must create it, together,” said Mathe Masupha, one of the lead organizers of the dialogue. Her words reflected a shared message from all participants: youth are not asking for permission to lead, they are already leading.The dialogue truly echoed the spirit of the Pact for the Future, particularly its call to meaningfully involve young people in shaping national and global decisions. Participants proposed the institutionalisation of the National Youth Dialogue as a permanent structure to hold government and partners accountable for SDG progress. They also recommended the establishment of a Youth SDG Fund to finance innovation, entrepreneurship, and community projects driven by young people. These recommendations align with the Pact’s pillars on youth and future generations, sustainable development, and global partnerships.What emerged from the dialogue was not just a list of recommendations, but a vision for a future where young people are trusted as partners in governance, innovation, and nation-building. It showed that the future is not something distant, it is being negotiated now, and the voices of young people must be part of that agreement. With the momentum of this dialogue and the global framework of the Pact for the Future, Lesotho has an opportunity to build a more just, sustainable, and inclusive society, shaped by the very generation that will inherit it.

At the community playground in Ha-Tankele, under the Qhoasing Community Council, the air is filled with the sounds of celebration and quiet moments of life-changing impact. Families gather not just for an event, but to witness a shift in how essential services reach the most underserved communities.The visit marked a major milestone in the Equitable Lesotho – Ntlafatsa Bana project, a joint initiative of the Government of Lesotho, the European Union, and UNICEF, which brings together clean water, child nutrition, legal identity, energy access, and social protection, all designed to help children and families thrive.When Marelebohile Tikiso, 52, walked across the field with two young children in tow, she was carrying more than just a day’s anticipation. She carried hope and years of waiting.A mother of four and guardian to three children from her sister-in-law, Marelebohile stood quietly as Palesa and Lethabo, both aged four but not twins, finally received something she had tried to secure for years: birth certificates. “I applied four years ago,” she said, holding the freshly printed papers. “But the certificates never came. Today, they are finally here. The children now have names recognized by the state. Now I can apply for the child grant.”This milestone was made possible by the project’s digital birth registration system, which has replaced slow, manual processes with real-time tablet-based registration. Operated by trained Village Health Workers and Civil Registration Officers, the system is integrated with NISSA—Lesotho’s national social assistance database—helping families access healthcare, education, and social grants more efficiently.Just steps away, Mamello Moholoholo, a Village Health Worker, sat with other members of the Iphepeng Breastfeeding and Nutrition Club, behind a table lined with dried peaches, motoho, moroho, handmade brooms, beans, and beetroot. The group meets twice a month for shared cooking sessions, nutrition education, and growth monitoring of children under five. “Everyone brings what they can—sometimes cabbage, sometimes beans,” Mamello said. “Even if someone comes empty-handed, they leave with knowledge. That’s what matters.”Their club is one of 30 across Lesotho supported through the project, promoting home gardening and peer learning to tackle child malnutrition. A fruit dryer provided by the project will soon allow them to process and sell produce—once recent heavy rains pass.Meanwhile, the community has also benefited from a rehabilitated water system, including source protection, pipe replacements, and standpipes. A community-led maintenance plan ensures the improvements last well into the future. The visit to Ha-Tankele brought national attention, with ministers, diplomats, and UNICEF leadership engaging directly with the community—seeing for themselves the real-world impact of a project that is turning policy into progress.“Before this, they didn’t exist on paper,” Marelebohile said of the children. “But now, I can go to the Ministry and ask for help. I can finally say: these are my children—and they belong.”For Mamello, the change is just as real. “When children are well-fed, when mothers are supported, and when everyone has water and documents,” she said, “the whole village grows stronger.”In Ha-Tankele, the Ntlafatsa Bana project is not just a development programme—it’s a deeply human shift, helping families not only survive, but build futures filled with dignity, identity, and opportunity.

Lesotho is taking steps to improve maternal and newborn health with the acquisition and management of the m-mama platform, a mobile application for emergency referral to ensure timely pregnancy and childbirth care in communities.According to the latest WHO estimates, the maternal mortality rate in Lesotho has dropped by almost 10% between 2020 and 2023, from 529 to 478 per 100 000 live births, with an estimated 267 maternal deaths in 2023. While this progress is encouraging, it is still above the average maternal mortality rate for Sub-Saharan Africa of 454 per 100 000 live births. Much remains to be done to achieve the global target of less than 70 per 100 000 live births by 2030.The leading causes of maternal mortality in Lesotho are severe bleeding (postpartum haemorrhage), pregnancy-related hypertension and complications due to unsafe abortion, all of which being preventable if early care is available and accessible. However, the country does not have enough ambulances to respond to community-based emergencies in hard-to-reach areas, especially those that are maternal and neonatal related.In 2020, the Vodafone Foundation, in partnership with the Ministry of Health and communities, launched m-mama, an affordable emergency transport service that connects mothers and newborns to life-saving health care. In January 2025, the programme was acquired by the Government of Lesotho.In 2024, WHO supported Lesotho’s Ministry of Health develop a Digital Health strategy (2025‒2030). Part of WHO’s multipronged approach to support implementation of the strategy is to ensure that m-mama is fully integrated into national digital health frameworks and that governance and ownership of the initiative is strengthened.  A routine trip to purchase supplies for her small grocery store ended up in an unexpected turn of events for 46-year-old Mantoa Moleli from Phatsoe Ha Josefa village in Lesotho’s northern Leribe district. While enroute, she came across a gathering at a local clinic and heard about m-mama, an initiative that uses community-based transport for pregnant women and newborn babies during emergencies. This chance encounter convinced Moleli to become a volunteer driver for the initiative. “What motivated me to volunteer is my passion for childcare,” says Moleli. “I feel that the programme saves lives and raises a lot of awareness among pregnant women to attend antenatal care.” Alongside 19 other community drivers, Moleli received training in traffic rules and regulations, first aid, and infection prevention and control, to ensure that they can provide safe and effective emergency transport. Equipped with her car and the m-mama app on her mobile phone, Moleli is ready to respond, day or night. She joins 3800 volunteers nationwide, who either use their personal vehicles, their taxis, or when the terrain is more unforgiving, boats or horses, to provide fast and affordable transport to women all over the country. When a user places a free call to the 24-hour toll free number, a dispatcher evaluates their condition using the m-mama app, which is built to function both online and offline, making it suitable for rural settings.

If medical assistance is needed, the app locates the nearest community driver, who then receives a request to transport the patient to a health facility for stabilization or care.
The dispatcher contacts the facility in advance to confirm its readiness to provide treatment, and if unavailable, redirects the patient to an alternative facility. Upon the patient’s safe arrival at the destination, the driver is compensated for the trip via M-Pesa mobile money app or another approved payment method, at no cost to the user.

"Before m-mama, we faced critical transport shortages, causing severe maternal and neonatal complications and even deaths," says Puseletso Matšela, a nurse dispatcher from Leribe district. "We do not want a single life to be lost and m-mama is making this possible.” Mamasekoane Nkhasi, a mother of five children from the same village as Moleli, experienced first-hand the life-saving impact of m-mama. After a bad fall at home which caused complications, she alerted her sister who called m-mama.

"I was scared, but 'Mantoa arrived quickly and took me to the hospital,” she says. While hospital staff were only able to save her and one of the twins she delivered, they continued to provide essential care to her and her baby, Lineo, and they were discharged a month later. “If it wasn't for m-mama, I don't know what would have happened,” says Nkhasi. While every district hospital in Lesotho has an ambulance and regional hospitals have an average of two, they respond to all emergencies and are insufficient to address those that are maternal and newborn related.
According to the Vodafone Foundation, the US$ 130,000 annual cost of the programme is more affordable than the purchase and operational costs of one ambulance over the same period.M-mama is a model of sustainable public-private partnership. Implemented for four years by the foundation, the programme became fully funded and operated by the Government of Lesotho in 2024 and was officially handed over by the foundation to government in January 2025, at a colour function presided over by Her Majesty the Queen in the presence of the Hon Minister of Health and several other dignitaries.

“The success of m-mama stands as a shining example of what we can achieve through unity and shared purpose,” says Her Majesty Queen Masenate Mohato Seeiso. “With our government's steadfast commitment and the proven effectiveness of the m-mama model, lives of countless mothers and babies in Lesotho are secured.”
"The m-mama programme has had a remarkable impact on maternal and newborn health in Lesotho,” says Lesotho’s Minister of Health Selibe Mochoboroane. “We have seen a good reduction in maternal mortality rates, which is in no small part attributable to this life-saving initiative.”Since its inception in 2020, m-mama has handled over 8800 maternal emergencies and almost 650 neonatal emergencies. Results from the pilot in selected districts have shown a 50% reduction in response time to these emergencies.

“WHO is proud to support the Ministry of Health in bolstering its health systems through viable digital health strategies that support innovations like m-mama,” says Dr Innocent Nuwagira, WHO Representative in Lesotho. “Together, we are building a future where access to emergency healthcare is not a privilege, but a right for all people in Lesotho."

The UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) Regional Director (RD), Rose Mwebaza recently visited Lesotho to engage with the government and assess opportunities for future collaboration. The visit aimed to better understand the country’s needs and challenges concerning environmental sustainability, specifically in land management practices. During the mission, the UNEP delegation sought to identify gaps in current land management activities and explore how they could provide further support to the government and local communities.One of the key highlights of the visit was a trip to a project site actively implementing land management activities under the IACoV project. At the project site, the Regional Director was deeply impressed by the dedication and resilience of the beneficiaries, particularly in the face of the physically demanding tasks associated with land restoration. The project has seen significant participation from women, many of whom are involved in activities like soil conservation, planting trees, and other labor-intensive tasks aimed at restoring the land. Despite the challenges, the women’s commitment to the project has been unwavering, with many expressing how it has not only improved the land but also provided them with a sense of empowerment and economic opportunity. This visit allowed the UNEP team to directly observe the impact of the IACoV project, which is providing much-needed support to communities who rely on agriculture for their livelihoods. The successful integration of women into these land management activities is a particularly promising outcome, showcasing how environmental sustainability efforts can also contribute to gender equality and community empowerment.In addition to this, discussions with the government counterparts focused on enhancing coordination and scaling up successful initiatives across the country. The UNEP team emphasized the importance of aligning future support with Lesotho's national priorities, ensuring that any interventions are both effective and sustainable in the long term. The mission was a productive step toward fostering stronger collaboration between the government of Lesotho, UNEP, and other stakeholders in tackling the country’s environmental and socio-economic challenges. The mission also included a visit to Paul VI High School, where the IACoV project has supported the installation of an Early Warning System (EWS). This area is notorious for experiencing severe lightning storms, which have tragically claimed lives and caused serious injuries to both local communities and school children over the years. The installation of the EWS is a significant development in addressing these hazards, providing crucial information to warn the community and students of impending storms and dangerous weather conditions.Paul VI High School, located in an area that is particularly vulnerable to harsh weather events, is attended by students who often travel long distances on foot to reach the school. For many of these children, their daily commute involves navigating through difficult terrain and enduring unpredictable weather, which can range from intense heat to violent thunderstorms, often without any advanced warning. The lack of a reliable alert system has exacerbated the risks they face, particularly in a region where sudden lightning storms can strike without much notice. The new Early Warning System, which has been tailored to the specific needs of the school and surrounding community, will play a vital role in protecting students and their families. With the system in place, students will be alerted ahead of time about the possibility of severe weather, allowing them to take necessary precautions, such as seeking shelter or delaying travel. This will significantly reduce the risks posed by lightning strikes, which have previously resulted in tragic accidents.The RD commended the installation of the EWS, noting that it reflects a comprehensive approach to addressing environmental challenges and community safety. The UNEP team emphasized the importance of not only improving infrastructure for early warning but also strengthening local capacity to respond to such alerts effectively. This initiative is part of a larger effort to integrate climate resilience into vulnerable areas, ensuring that people are better prepared for the growing challenges posed by unpredictable weather patterns.