New Minister of Health visits WHO Lesotho

The new Minister of Health, Honourable Nyapane Kaya visited the WHO Country Office Lesotho with the purpose to understand the mandate of WHO and also to get an update on the support of WCO to the government of Lesotho, in particular the Ministry of Health. This was the Ministers first meeting with WHO after his inauguration last month.

The Honourable Minister was accompanied by the senior management of the Ministry of Health comprising the Assistant Minister Honorable ‘Manthabiseng Phohleli, the Principal Secretary for Health Mrs ‘Malerato Khoeli and the Director General of Health Services Dr. ‘Nyane Letsie.

Under the chairmanship of the UN Country Representative, Mr. Salvator Niyonzima, a brief presentation on the structure, priorities and core functions of WHO was delivered to the Honorable Minister and his team. The presentation was done by Dr. Susan Tembo (OIC) on behalf of WHO. This was followed by fruitful discussions between the two parties. Dr Tembo emphasized the WHO role in supporting and guiding the health agenda of the Ministry of Health as outlined in strategic documents, not only of the Ministry of Health, but of the Country in general . She indicated that it was for this reason that the Ministry of Health should ensure the endorsement of all the health sector strategic documents and contribute to the National Strategic Development Plan that is currently under review. She concluded by highlighting the priority areas and the transformation agenda of the WHO Africa Region.

In his response, the Minister of Health Honorable Nyapane Kaya noted a number of important issues that emanated from the presentation and the discussions. The decentralization of health services was one such issue. The Minister indicated that the decentralization of the health services is one way of accelerating the attainment of universal health coverage within the country. He assured WHO of the commitment of the government of Lesotho, and the Ministry of Health in ensuring the attainment of good health for all the people of Lesotho.