…as donor funding diminishes
Moroke Sekoboto
EFFECTIVE coordination among stakeholders has been identified as crucial for improving Lesotho’s social protection systems — ensuring better service delivery, eliminating duplication, and enhancing resilience amid dwindling donor funding.
This emerged during the National Social Protection Coordination Conference held at Avani Lesotho this week.
The two-day event, organised by the Ministry of Gender, Youth and Social Development (MoGYSD), with support from the European Union (EU) and UNICEF, brought together government officials, development partners, and civil society representatives to review and strengthen collaboration in the social protection sector.
Principal Secretary in the Ministry, Mahlapane Makakole-Bodiba, said with reduced donor funding and increasing demands for social protection, coordination has become more important than ever.
“The main goal of this conference is to strengthen coordination among stakeholders in the social protection sector in Lesotho — to build a more integrated, inclusive, and effective system,” Ms Makakole-Bodiba said.
“We must create a comprehensive system that reduces duplication, improves efficiency, and ensures that no one is left behind.”
Ms Makakole-Bodiba said the government must lead coordination efforts by promoting the use and sharing of integrated systems and data, such as the National Information System for Social Assistance (NISSA) and the National Identity and Civil Registry (NICR), to consolidate data, manage beneficiaries, and improve delivery.
She urged ministries to align their planning and budgeting through inter-ministerial committees or forums.
She said signs of efficiency are already visible in consolidated programmes such as the OVC (Orphans and other Vulnerable Children) Bursary, now under the Department of Social Development, and the Old Age Pension, which was also transferred to the same department.
Highlighting progress under the Ntlafatsa Bana cash plus initiative, Ms Makakole-Bodiba said beneficiaries now receive additional services including birth registration, access to water and sanitation, nutrition support, and clean energy solutions.
“These interventions, though small in scale, yield greater benefits for communities. We may not necessarily need more funding if coordination is strengthened.”
UNICEF Country Representative, Deepak Bhaskaran, commended Lesotho for its policy framework, citing the National Social Development Policy (2014/15–2024/25) and the National Social Protection Strategies I and II, which have laid a solid foundation for structured social protection delivery.
However, he lamented that high-level coordination bodies — including the Cabinet Committee and the Principal Secretaries’ Committee on Social Protection — have become largely dormant.
“This has weakened policy dialogue and slowed progress on key reforms, such as the approval of the Social Assistance Policy, which is essential for enacting social protection legislation,” Mr Bhaskaran said.
At the district level, Mr Bhaskaran said coordination structures were also underperforming, with meetings either declining or ceasing altogether, resulting in fragmented service delivery and poor responsiveness to community needs.
He also said the Social Protection Coordination Secretariat, envisioned in both national strategies, has still not been set up, leaving coordination tasks to overstretched planning officers — a situation he described as “neither effective nor sustainable”.
“This moment calls for a shift in approach. We must evaluate the effectiveness of current coordination mechanisms, ensure the ministry is leading a truly multi-sectoral approach, and consider restructuring platforms where necessary.”
He stressed that coordination requires sustainable financing, as joint planning, implementation, and monitoring come at a cost. He also emphasised the need to break down silos between social assistance, insurance, and care services so that the system can respond more cohesively to the needs of vulnerable populations.
On her part, EU Ambassador, Mette Sunnergren, reiterated the importance of collaboration among all actors in Lesotho’s social protection ecosystem.
“Effective coordination ensures that resources are optimised and initiatives are aligned, allowing us to comprehensively address the needs of vulnerable populations,” Ms Sunnergren said.
She said harmonising efforts across government institutions, NGOs, international partners such as the EU and UNICEF, and local communities helps to reduce overlaps and gaps in service delivery.
“A coordinated approach enhances impact and efficiency, fosters shared learning, and leads to more sustainable outcomes.”
She highlighted the EU’s longstanding support for Lesotho’s social protection, noting that since 2007, the EU and UNICEF partnership has yielded tangible results, including the Child Grant Programme and the establishment of NISSA.
“This partnership, built over more than 15 years, has created a robust and resilient social protection system. We now look forward to the full digitalisation of social protection subsidies, which will improve sustainability, reduce costs, and ensure that help reaches those who need it most.”
Ms Sunnergren said the success of initiatives like Equitable Lesotho – Ntlafatsa Bana, now in its second year of implementation, depends on the continued commitment to coordination and sustainability among all stakeholders.
