Nthatuoa Koeshe
THE Vodacom Foundation this week donated 48 tablets worth M90 000 to the AIDSFree project to mobilise HIV identification and treatment in Lesotho through the use of mobile technologies.
AIDSFree is a USAID funded project which works closely with governments, civil society and the private sector to address the critical pillars of HIV and public health.
In 2015, Vodacom Foundation committed approximately M120 million in the treatment of Lesotho’s children and pregnant women living with HIV.
Developed in conjunction with the Ministry of Health, the service was oriented towards pregnant women, mothers and young children, who are among the most vulnerable groups in a society where many children under the age of 14 are estimated to be undiagnosed but living with HIV.
As a continuation of their commitment to mobilising HIV identification and treatment in Lesotho through the use of mobile technologies to increase the number of HIV positive children and pregnant women accessing treatment, Vodacom donated 40 tablets to AIDSFree.
Vodacom Lesotho’s executive head of legal regulatory and external affairs, Molemo Motseki, told guests at the handover that they were proud of the job they do in the communities particularly through the Vodacom Foundation.
He said the foundation covered three main pillars one of them being health. He further explained that their history with health in Lesotho started in 2014 with the project MOYO which invested over M100 million into Lesotho’s health system over three years. The project aimed to put HIV positive children and pregnant women in Lesotho on life-saving treatment, and to improve maternal health outcomes for Basotho.
He said through the project, over 700 000 individuals were tested, 138 000 were supported through the programme and 2 700 who tested positive were under the care of project MOYO.
“We would like to use technology to support initiatives concerning health because these days technology if far reaching,” Mr Motseki said.
He said Vodacom believes that using technology to partner with civil society organisations and other health institutions can help achieve more.
“We are giving these believing that they can be used to collect data, provide analyses and enhance the work they do,” he said.
AIDSFree chief of party, Kelello Lerotholi, said his organisation provides comprehensive layered services including school-based HIV risk avoidance and violence prevention, community mobilisation and norms change activities.
Mr Lerotholi said managing information and data is critical and the public should start using technology in different areas of their lives.
“I am thankful to Vodacom as a corporate entity in Lesotho because they took it upon themselves to contribute in making our work easier with these tablets,” Mr Lerotholi said.
