Sub Saharan Africa

Lesotho
Last reviewed: 12 August 2009

Country information

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TRADE AND INVESTMENT

Trade and Investment with the UK

The value of direct British exports to Lesotho in 2008 was £1.16 million. The value of direct British imports from Lesotho was £0.39 million. British goods exported to South Africa also find their way in to Lesotho.

Development

Though recently reclassified as a Lower Middle Income Country, Lesotho remains a poor country with significant poverty-related problems. Over half of the population lives on less than $2 a day, with some 43% living below the international poverty line (as of 2007). The country is also suffering from the global economic downturn through reduced exports, lower remittances and declining revenues from the Southern Africa Customs Union.

Lesotho has the third-highest HIV prevalence rate in the world, amounting to 23.2% of the population in 2007. Since its first reported case of AIDS in 1986, Lesotho has struggled to take effective action due to the country’s financial and infrastructural limitations. Though some positive steps have been taken, including initiatives such as offering free HIV tests and the launch in 2005 of a community network to support people living with HIV/AIDS, significant challenges remain.

Among the recent programmes the Department for International Development (DFID) has helped fund is the Apparel Lesotho Alliance to Fight AIDS (ALAFA). Launched in May 2006, ALAFA provides prevention and treatment for the more than 40,000 mainly women Basotho workers in the textile and apparel industry, one third of whom are estimated to be infected with HIV. This will reduce the impact of HIV/AIDS on workers and ensure the largest employer in Lesotho remains competitive, protecting the livelihoods of the roughly 200,000 people dependent on these workers.

The UK is one of the biggest donors to Lesotho and DFID has allocated some £4.4 million in assistance for 2009/2010. Lesotho also benefits from some of DFID’s regional programmes in Southern Africa and gets further support through multilateral channels. In addition to the work the UK is doing to help Lesotho fight HIV/AIDS, we are also working with development partners to improve financial management and create more jobs by making Lesotho a better place to do business.

DFID has a Country Representative based in the Irish Embassy, in Maseru.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Department for International Development (DFID)