Lesotho has achieved one of the continent’s most significant reductions in unmet family planning needs, cutting the rate from 31 to 12.6 percent over the past two decades, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Officials credit the decline to grassroots efforts that have expanded access to contraception and empowered women to make reproductive choices.
UNFPA Representative Innocent Modisaotsile described the achievement as a “quiet” but “transformative” shift.
“This is progress woven at the grassroots, inch by inch, story by story,” he said on Tuesday.
He said the impact is evident across Lesotho’s rural highlands and urban centres where mobile clinics bring services directly to factory workers, while village health workers distribute self-injectable contraceptives and youth clubs foster open discussions on reproductive health.
These initiatives have been instrumental in ensuring that women and girls can choose if, when and how many children to have.
UNFPA has supported these national efforts by strengthening supply chains, training healthcare workers and advocating for policies that safeguard reproductive rights.
But the driving force behind the success has been local engagement – from mothers and nurses to peer educators and traditional leaders.
“The true story belongs to the people of Lesotho; they are the mothers, daughters, peer educators, nurses and village elders who have embraced family planning not as an intervention but as an enabler of dignity, education and opportunity,” Modisaotsile said.
Family planning in Lesotho has contributed not only to improved maternal health but also to broader socioeconomic gains.
Increased access to contraception has helped young women complete their education, supported workforce participation and reinforced HIV prevention efforts.
With a national goal of eliminating unmet family planning needs by 2030, officials are focusing on deepening youth engagement, expanding mobile services and integrating family planning within universal health coverage.
Modisaotsile described Lesotho’s progress as a lesson in perseverance.
“If a small mountain kingdom can halve its unmet need through community action, leadership and perseverance, so can many others.”
JN/APA