The Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) unit of the Family Health Division in the Ministry of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare embarked on a series of training workshops on integrated sexual and reproductive health for health workers in all districts of the country.

The SRH Focal person in the Ministry of Health said the objective is to inform health workers on the integrated Sexual Reproductive Health services particularly in this era of HIV prevalence.

During the workshop, the health workers will be orientated on the newly reviewed Lesotho obstetric care guidelines. Among others the document entails topics such as obstructed labour, ante partum heamohage, post partum heamohage, hypertension in pregnancy and cervical cancer.

Caption: Health workers holding sexual reproductive health guidelines and tools. On the right is the SRH consultant Dr. Tlale during the SRH training in Berea district.

The overall objective is to equip health workers with integrated Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) skills with a view to improve the quality care services at all levels.

One of the participant in Berea workshop, Mrs Mathaabe Reseleso said some pregnant mother who do not visit clinics during their pregnancy lack transport while other do not have money to pay for delivery fees, hence some encounter complications at home especially with high HIV prevalence which contribute in large extent to the risk pregnancy.

Participants at the training are health workers drawn from hospitals as well as all the clinics around the districts. Similar workshops on Sexual Reproductive health were held throughout the country with the same purposes.

The integrated management of Sexual Reproductive Health and HIV program is supported under the Global Fund Round 8 HIV grant. Through this program health workers will be trained and the expectation is the trained health workers will train community health workers with a view to improve the quality of Sexual Reproductive Health services to all people include those that live with HIV.