From October 21-22, officials from the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the HIV Directorate met with key stakeholders from government, civil society and the donor community to review results from a Capacity Project study on the role of men as providers of HIV/AIDS care in Lesotho.

Currently, 92% of community and home-based care (CHBC) workers are women, and the demand for care is far outstripping the capacity of the workforce. The study team interviewed 25 district officials, health-center nurses and village chiefs, and held 31 focus groups with 244 community members and people living with HIV.

Several key recommendations emerged from the study: the Ministry should work with partners to create policies and strategies to promote equitable sharing of the burden of HIV/AIDS care and actively recruit men to CHBC; these policies should strongly support the women and girls already doing this work; and supplies and nonmonetary incentives should be made available to CHBC workers.

November 2008