The economic impact of HIV/AIDS in Lesotho : direct and indirect costs : 1993 - 1998

HIV/AIDS has the potential to impose a major economic impact on Lesotho. The total long run economic impact of HIV/AIDS between the years 1993 and 1998 is estimated to total M522;035;686 in constant 1992 prices. This figure includes the total direct medical costs (M66;497;825); the total direct non-personal costs (M48;460;02); and the total indirect costs (M437;077;840). With the rapid increase in HIV infection in Lesotho; the cost of the pandemic promises to spiral. Its cost would not only impact health care services; but many other sectors of the economy as well

Health services in Lesotho : a study of new possibilities for cooperation with South Africa

This study was conceived in 1993 by the WHO Office in Lesotho; when the events in South Africa indicated that a transition was imminent. Its main objective was to look into the health systems of Lesotho and South Africa from Lesotho's point of view; to ascertain the feasibility of an intensified collaborative venture that may benefit both countries. The idea was discussed within the United Nations system in Lesotho and it was agreed later last year to undertake a comprehensive study on the impact of South African developments on Lesotho socio-economic scenario. This study then is part of a wider critical look at possibilities to establish closer linkages between the two countries. The study reviews present relations between the health systems of Lesotho and South Africa and formulates possibilities for new initiatives; within the context of technical cooperation but also in the spirit of the Reconstruction and Development Programme for South Africa