More support for women and HIV/AIDS - NGO council

The Lesotho Council of NGOs on Thursday said a move by the government to strengthen its support of women in the HIV/AIDS battle was long over-due. National Assembly Speaker, Ntlhohi Motsamai last week called for the establishment of a parlimentary committee to addresses the plight of women affected by HIV/AIDS. "This is a timely move by the government. Basotho women are infantilised by tradition and have become increasingly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS," project officer for the national NGO Council, Moshe Tsehlo, told the UN news service PlusNews. Tsehlo said the government had only recently taken notice of the impact of the epidemic on women, and was still debating an HIV/AIDS care and treatment policy. "There has been no real government HIV/AIDS initiative put in place. We are still waiting for the government's response on the five-year roll-out of free nevirapine announced earlier this year," Tsehlo said.