Maseru ____ The districts of Qacha’s Nek and Mafeteng are reported to be facing high rates of lack of access to food, increase in diseases, malnutrition and stunting in children under the age of 5 due to the effects of El nino which seems to be hitting the Southern African region.

This was said by the United Nations Assistant Secretary General Ms. Reene Ghelani during a press conference held in Maseru on Wednesday where she was debriefing the media on the findings of the four-day mission contacted by the UN in Lesotho to witness the impact of drought.

At this conference, Ms. Ghelani stated that the impact of El nino that is currently hitting the Southern African region is reported to be the worst that the region has faced for the last 40 years.

She mentioned that together with the government of Lesotho, the United Nations is aiming at finding collaborative measures  which can be implemented towards resilience on food sustainability and climate change impacts.

Ms. Ghelani however mentioned that as a way of addressing these effects, the United Nations has set aside an emergency funding for the government of Lesotho which will be under coordination and monitoring of the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s office.

Meanwhile, the UN Resident Coordinator Ms. Amanda Khozi Mukwashi said that they are thankful that the mission was undertaken as it will help with mitigation plans to address the challenges that the country is facing due to the effects of drought.

She mentioned that together with the government of Lesotho and other United Nations partners, they have developed about four programmes that are steered towards optimizing food production, nutrition and natural resources.

Lesotho is currently facing a severe food insecurity crisis that has also directed the Prime Minister Mr. Ntsokoane Matekane to call on a state of emergency on hunger across the country.