Child Poverty in Lesotho: The Challenge and Possible Responses

The most recent estimates indicate that 57 per cent of all households live below the national poverty line. There are also reasons to believe that children in Lesotho are disproportionally affected by occurring deprivations like malnutrition, HIV/AIDS, school dropout, under-five mortality and orphanhood.1 With nearly half of Lesotho’s inhabitants under the age of 18,2 it is important to understand the complexity of child poverty in the country and to address child-specific vulnerabilities through appropriate policy actions.