The Minister of Health and Social Welfare Honourable Dr. Mphu Ramatlapeng attended a two day conference in Dublin, Ireland from 2 – 3 February, 2012. The theme of the Conference was Global Health Workforce – Pathways to Health organised by the Irish Forum for Global Health (IFGH) cognisant of the fact that one of the serious challenges confronting the global health today is the chronic shortage of skilled health personnel especially in remote parts of the world.  

In this conference the Minister chaired the session on Responding to Current Challenges in the Human Resources for Health Crisis; delivered Annual Irish Aid Professor Father Michael Kelly Lecture; and also made a presentation on Strengthening and supporting the health workforce.

In her presentation the Minister demonstrated the enormous impact made by Irish Aid in Lesotho and thus saving lives of the people. She also highlighted the significant milestones achieved in the partnership between the Government of Lesotho, Irish Aid and the Clinton Foundation. These include the Nursing Initiative which increased staffing at the health sectors, Clinical mentoring programme which built the capacity of the Lesotho clinicians, Laboratory Mentoring Programme which saw Lesotho being the first country in Africa to begin a step-wise accreditation programme for laboratories and Village Health Worker Programme which led to the provision of incentives for village health workers. The Minister, as the Vice Chair of the Global Fund further extended her gratitude to Ireland for supporting the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in spite of the current economic challenges.

The Conference was also addressed by the  Minister of State for Trade and Development of Ireland Joe Costello TD who announced that Ireland will be joining the European ESTHER Alliance, a network of Governments working in synergy to tackle HIV/Aids and major diseases and improve women, newborn and children`s health.  This Alliance involves twinning between European hospitals and institutions in developing countries to build capacity to improve health care services.

The Conference was a resounding success attended by renowned Irish and International experts, NGOs, Institutions of Higher learning etc. The Conference was also graced by the legendary South African singer and UNICEF and Roll Back Ambassador and UN Envoy for Africa Yvonne Chaka Chaka.

The Embassy has facilitated a 60 member Irish delegation to Lesotho. The purpose of the trip is to implement a five-year integrated development programme in the country starting this year after completing the same programme in South Africa last year.

The delegation before boarding a plane to Lesotho at Dublin Airport.

The team left for Lesotho on February 11th and is expected to complete this phase of the project on February 24th, 2012. The delegation comprises businessmen, nurses, teachers, community members mostly from the Fingal County and more importantly Portmarnock Community School students and their parents.

Among the components of this programme that will be implemented during this visit will be the twinning of PCS with Hlalele Secondary School in Maseru. This will entail among others, capacity building for teachers in ICTs and Lifeskills which will be undertaken in collaboration with the Lesotho College of Education. This will later include construction of classrooms, office block, toilets and facilities for services to orphans at the school.

The health component – which includes training in emergency services, provision of nursing and dental services and donation of a large number of items including an ambulance vehicle – will be implemented in partnership with the St. Joseph's Hospital and Roma College of Nursing. The programme also includes other sectors such as capacity building of the Police Fire Department and other entrepreneurial activities.

A consignment of goods for donation to the previously identified institutions was dispatched from Ireland and is due to arrive in Lesotho this month.

This endeavour will not only benefit the involved institutions, but will also raise the profile of Lesotho as a preferred tourist destination since the delegation will also make time to travel and explore the beautiful Mountain Kingdom during their stay. The Embassy is collaborating with the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in Lesotho on this initiative.

On the 02 February 2012, His Excellency Mr. Paramente Phamotse
presented his Letters of Credence to His Majesty King Harald V, accrediting him as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Lesotho to the Kingdom of Norway on a non-residential basis. His Excellency’s presentation in Norway is the second of the five Nordic countries to which the Lesotho Embassy in Dublin is accredited. The first was Finland in December 2011.

While in Oslo, the Ambassador also met senior Government officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs including Ms. Aud Marit Wiig, Director General, Department of Regional Affairs; Ms. Elin Rognli, Policy Director, International Development Section; and the Director General of NORAD, Ms. Villa Kulild. The Ambassador also met one of the Vice-Presidents of Parliament and Member of the Parliament Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, Dr. Dagfinn Høybråten. Dr. Høybråten is also chair of the GAVI Alliance.  In these meetings, issues of common interest between Lesotho and Norway such as national development priorities, governance, green energy resource development, public health and regional cooperation were discussed.

The Lesotho Minister of Finance and Development Planning Dr. Timothy Thahane today presented the Budget Estimates for the 2012-2013 financial year. In his budget speech to Parliament in Maseru, on the theme "Strengthening Fiscal Resilience and National Competitiveness for Accelerating Economic Growth and Development", the Minister tabled the projected revenue collection and planned priorities for expenditure for the fiscal year beginning in April 2012. The full text of the speech is available here.

 The Right Honourable the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho, Dr. Pakalitha Mosisili, wished all Basotho a Merry Christmas and a Happy 2012...Read more

On the 12 December 2011, His Excellency Mr. Paramente Phamotse was invited by Action Ireland Trust to take part on the occasion of loading up 2 containers for the integrated Lesotho charity project. The loaded items include computers, hospital equipment, pianos, books, one ambulance vehicle and many more. The project will be implemented over a period of five years starting from February, 2012. A total of 65 volunteers will travel to Lesotho in February 2012 to implement the first phase of the project.

On his statement, Ambassador Phamotse expressed his gratitude and appreciation to Action Ireland Trust, DHL and the entire Community of Portmarnock for this commendable endeavour. He said the contribution was not only going to benefit Hlalele Secondary School, Lesotho College of Education and St. Joseph’s Hospital, but will have a meaningful impact on the lives of many people in Lesotho.

He also emphasised that the project was a testimony to the generous spirit that Irish people are known for throughout the world. “This endeavour is a clear sign that together we can tackle many challenges facing the world today. We are all hopeful that this is the first of many days where you will express your generosity, your humanity and passion for fellow mankind, especially towards the citizens of Lesotho. For this we are very grateful”, he concluded.

His Excellency Mr. Paramente Phamotse
presented his Letters of Credence, accrediting him as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Lesotho to the Republic of Finland, to the President Her Excellency Ms. Tarja Halonen on the 1^st December, 2011.

In their brief discussion after the Presentation, both parties reiterated their commitment to continue to maintain the long-standing relations that have always existed between the Kingdom of Lesotho and the Republic of Finland. They also acknowledged the previous collaborative programmes between the two countries and the possibility of exploring more avenues. In particular, the President advised the Ambassador to establish links with the Finnish education sector in future. Finland is renowned for its high-quality education system.

 The Ambassador was accompanied by the First Secretary, Mr. Nkhotha Machachamise.

A delegation of six officials from Lesotho visited Ireland on a familiarization tour from 14 – 21 November, 2011.

The delegation comprised the following: Ms. Mamello Mahloane from the Ministry of Tourism, Ms Julia Khoeli from the Lesotho Development Corporation (LTDC), Ms Potlako Ntsekhe, LTDC Board member, Associate Professor Victor Polaki from the Lesotho Council of Higher Education, Mr. Ntaote Seboka, a Licensing Board member and President of the Lesotho Chamber of Commerce and Mr. Mafike Mafike from the Workers Confederation.

The tour offered the delegation an opportunity to learn about the practical development and implementation of the Qualifications Framework in Ireland, to engage with experts on the benchmarking exercise as well as to understand the application of the concept of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) in Ireland. This visit could not have been more timely as Lesotho is in the process of finalizing its own National Qualifications Framework in order to bring the country's qualifications into a single framework and to have a quality assurance platform for the education and training provision in the country.

While in Ireland the delegation engaged in discussions with experts from the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland, the Higher Education and Training Awards Council, the Further Education and Training Awards Council, the Irish Universities Quality Board, the Department of Education and Skills and the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design & Technology amongst others.

The delegation left Ireland on the morning of Monday 21^st November and is expected to land in Maseru on Tuesday 22^nd November 2011.

22 Nov. 11