What we do
Lesotho Nutrition Initiative partners with organizations all across Lesotho to combat childhood malnutrition. We originated as a small group of students and faculty from Wittenberg University who were concerned about the severe stunting and childhood malnutrition in Lesotho.
We provide meals containing nutritional supplements to children in Lesotho who have been diagnosed as suffering from severe/chronic malnutrition and stunting, also known as wasting. The meals we provide are proven not only to halt malnutrition, but to also reverse the long-term effects.
Most of the 3,200 children who receive our meals on a daily basis are under the age of 5; we target this age group as they constitute the most vulnerable segment of society, as well as the fact that 95% of our cognitive development occurs during this time. Without proper nutrition, their brains will not fully develop, robbing them of their full human potential. Many of the children who receive our meals are also HIV+ and/or orphans.
Who we help
Lesotho, a landlocked country surrounded entirely by South Africa, suffered almost equally from the harsh realities of Apartheid for over forty years. As a result of this legacy, Lesotho is one of the thirty poorest countries in the world, with an HIV prevalence rate of 23.9%, and the highest per capita death rate from HIV than any country in the world. In a country of roughly 2.1 million people, the HIV/AIDS pandemic has helped create a situation in which there are 360,000 orphans living in the mountain kingdom. Additionally, due to poor soil and other climatic conditions, Lesotho only produces about 10% of its own food.
These two crises combined led to the government’s 2013 proclamation that 550,000 children were facing severe malnutrition. In the mountain district of Mokhotlong, nearly 40% of children suffer from severe malnutrition and stunting, while the national average is over 30%. The extremely high incidence of malnutrition and stunting demonstrates the need for nutritional assistance to children in this remote and often neglected corner of Lesotho.
While helping the nation surrounded by South Africa was once very much in vogue, since the dismantlement of Apartheid, assistance to Lesotho has virtually dried up.
What we’ve achieved
Since our founding in 2015, Lesotho Nutrition Initiative has packed over 3,000,000 meals, reaching all corners of Lesotho.
We have partnered with 33 schools, universities, churches, and businesses to pack meals.
We have worked with over 10,000 volunteers.
We have held over 150 packing events.
We have partnered with 24 sites in Lesotho who distribute our meals every day.