2020 UN Country Annual Results Report

COVID-19 destabilised the Kingdom of Lesotho’s development agenda in 2020, reducing economic growth and destroying people’s livelihoods. Businesses and farms were forced to close under lockdowns, some of which may never reopen, causing massive increases in unemployment; vulnerability increased, both in terms of absolute poverty, but also gender based violence and psychosocial stress; whilst the health and education sectors faced insurmountable pressure. 

At the start of 2020, UN programming in Lesotho shifted from its long-term development focus to responding to the immediate humanitarian threat posed by COVID-19.