Capability Statement

Skillshare Lesotho has supported the Government of Lesotho for over 10 years as a local organization that currently manages a $2 million+ annual portfolio of health and development programs throughout Lesotho. Skillshare Lesotho has been a trusted partner with the Government of Lesotho and various donors implementing programs for more than 10 years. The donors have included but are not limited to UNICEF, Global fund through Pact, IOM, UNAIDS, Voluntary Services Oversees, Stelebosh University, and Jhapiego. Skillshare Lesotho brings extensive relevant technical expertise in combination HIV prevention (behavioral, biomedical, and structural) and Key population, Adolescents Migration, OVC, Refugees, and trafficking in-person programming, including:

1. Adolescent and Young People Program. This program is implemented in the Southern Region of Lesotho which includes Mafeteng, MohalesHoek, Quthing, and Qacha’sNek targeting to reach102302 young people by June 2021. works within and out of School young people aged 10-24 years. The program provides layered services which include;

• Social and behavioral change to increase risk perception, adoption of preventive behaviors, and uptake of HIV services.
• Condom promotion and provision.
• HIV testing services (HTS) and linkages to care.
• Linkages to RMNCH and family planning.
• SGBV prevention and post-violence care.
• Social asset building Parental engagement and community mobilization.

2. Female Sex Workers Program. In Partnership Pact Inc, Skillshare is implementing an HIV prevention Program targeting Female Sex Workers in 8 Districts of Lesotho. The Districts include Berea, Buthabuthe, Mokhotlong, Thabatseka, Mafeteng, MohalesHoek, Quthing, and QachasNek Districts. The program targets to reach 16148 female sex workers by June 2021. The following services are provided;

• Social and behavioral change to increase risk perception, adoption of preventive behaviors, and uptake of HIV services.
• Condom promotion and provision.
• HIV testing services (HTS) and linkages to care.
• Linkages to RMNCH and family planning.
• SGBV prevention and post-violence care.
• Social asset building.

3. Refugee Programming - In partnership with the Ministry of Home Affairs, Skillshare in supporting the refugee program through the provision of food items, resilience, and Integration services. Product Introduction and scale up- In partnership with the Ministry of Health, UNFPA, and UNESCO, Skillshare introduced the newly developed Comprehensive Sexuality Education manual to teachers and out of adolescent girls and young women and boys. By the end of the Project, Skillshare had reached 102302 AGYWs and boys and trained over 1000 teachers and 400 community volunteers in Mafeteng, Quthing, Mohaleshoek, and Qacha's Nek districts.

4. Gender Integration and youth participation- Skillshare Lesotho’s core approach is gender mainstreaming and youth participation. Over 60% of Skillshare’s workforce are women. The Organisation has a Protection against sexual exploitation and abuse Policy (PSEA) to mitigate sexual exploitation throughout Skillshare’s system. In partnership with UNFPA and the Ministry of Gender Skillshare facilitated the establishment of the Gender-Based Violence Network in Lesotho whose role was to coordinate GBV-related Interventions in Lesotho.

5. Demand generation and Marketing- Skillshare Lesotho’s niche in the health sector is health promotion and behaviour change through community mobilization and demand creation. Skillshare has facilitated HIV testing for over 50000 adolescents, reached over 160000 adolescents with behaviour change messaging, conducted STI screening for over 30000 young people, conducted Covid 19 screening for over 50000 people, distributed over 600000 male and female condoms, distributed over 30000 lubricants to key populations and mobilized over 15000 adolescents for medical male circumcision.

6. Community Engagement- In all the communities we work, Skillshare Lesotho works with the community structures. In the last 3 years, Skillshare has worked with the district administrators in all the districts, worked with both principal and local chiefs in all the districts, and liaised with members of parliament, counsellors, religious leaders, eminent persons, and opinion leaders in all the districts of Lesotho. In the last 3 Months, Skillshare facilitated principle chiefs and religious leaders for a benchmarking trip to Eswatini on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights.

7. Research utilization and knowledge management- Over the years, Skillshare has implemented various projects, assessments and research, evaluations and surveys in Lesotho. This experience coupled with our robust community structures and personnel puts us in a better position to implement the required assignment in the given time. In the last 3 years Skillshare Lesotho has conducted several studies and surveys that include but are not limited to;

• Rapid Assessment of the livelihood situation of returnees and Covid19 preparedness and response level in Migration affected areas in 2020 in 10 districts of Lesotho.
• Survey on Risk communication of COVID-19 along the borders in 4 districts (Quthing, Mafeteng, Qacha’s Nek, and MohalesHoek) in 2020.
• Livelihoods beneficiary Profiling and Tracing in Leribe, Mafeteng, MohalesHoek, Quthing, and QachasNek in 2021.
• Annual Perception survey for adolescents on the provision of youth-friendly health services in Mafikeng in Berea and Mafikeng through 34 health centers.
• Annual Migration flow Registry for Migrants at both official and non-official borders
• Annual Migration flow Survey for Migrants at both official and non-official borders
• Pre and post-training assessments to assess the level of knowledge among training participants.
• Baseline study for HIV knows no borders project in Maputsoe- Leribe District.

8. Skillshare Lesotho conducts program reviews, research, perception surveys, knowledge assessments, project evaluations

9. Covid 19 and Migration. In partnership with the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Health, and International Organization on Migration, Skillshare implemented a Covid awareness, screening, and referral project in 2021. The project targets returning and departing migrants in Leri be and Mafikeng where over 50000 people were sensitized and screened for Covid 19.

10. Social Accountability Project. Skillshare in partnership with UNICEF and VSO is implementing a Social accountability Project in Berea, Mafeteng, Botha Bothe, and Thabatseka. The project aims to empower young people to participate in monitoring the provision of youth-friendly services. Using a community scorecard as a tool, young people use the Ministry of Health’s National Minimum Standards on the provision of adolescent-friendly health services.

11. Prevention of Human trafficking- Skillshare is partnering with IOM and the Ministry of Home Affairs to disseminate information on the prevention of human trafficking most of whom girls. This is done through billboards, and fliers at Major roads leading to border points.

12. Development of Religious Sector National framework on HIV& AIDS. Skillshare in partnership with UNAIDS, CRS, CCL, CHAL, Moslems, Bahai, UNESCO, ADRA, and World Vision has developed the framework to guide religious sector HIV program implementation. The Framework will soon be launched by the Head of State.

13. Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights knows no borders- In partnership with the Ministry of Health, WITS University, Save the Children International and IOM, Skillshare conducted research on migration, adolescents, young people, and Sex workers concerning access to Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR).

Program / project name	Target Audience	Geographical coverage	Type of interventions.	No. of people provided with services.	Funder/ Donor	Implementation approach/ Service Packages.
Covid 19 vaccination awareness and data collection on public perceptions	Out of school youth and young mothers.	Mokhotlong, Quthing, Buthabuthe, Mohaleshoek and Berea	Covid 19 Vaccination, awareness and data collection on public perceptions on Covid 19 vaccination	25000	UNICEF	Mobilising out of school adolescents to update Covid 19 vaccines but also collect public perceptions on Covid 19 vaccination barriers.
Stepping – Up Universal Access: A Multi-Sectoral Response to TB/HIV Prevention at the community level in Lesotho	Adolescent and young people with bias to Adolescent Girls and Young Women (10-24 years)	Mafeteng, Mohale’s Hoek, Quthing, Qacha’s Nek	HIV prevention package for Adolescent in and Out of School	102302 people	Global Fund – Pact.	Peer education on CSE, HIV testing, referrals, Parental engagement, Use of sports, Condom education and provision, SGBV through paralegals to justice system.
Stepping – Up Universal Access: A Multi-Sectoral Response to TB/HIV Prevention at the community level in Lesotho	Female Sex Workers	Mafeteng, Mohale’s Hoek, Quthing, Qacha’s Nek, Mokhotlong, ThabaTseka, Bothabothe and Berea.	HIV prevention package for Female Sex Workers	16148	Global Fund – Pact	Peer education, HIV Testing, Referral, Condom Education and distribution.
Adolescents SRHR – Social Accountability project	Adolescents and young people	Berea, Bothabothe and ThabaTseka	Adolescents SRHR –Social Accountability project	4500	UNICEF	Social Accountability using Community Score card tracking the provision of youth friendly services. The aim is to Improve uptake of health services by young people.
Community led monitoring of health care services using data from health facilities.	Community leaders	Quthing	Using health data to engage community leaders.	500	UNAIDS	Community dialogues using health facility data as an engagement tool for community leaders resulting into community action plans. The aim is to Improve uptake of health services by young people.
Adolescents SRHR – Social Accountability Project.	Adolescents and young people	Mafeteng	Adolescents SRHR –Social Accountability Project	2300	Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO)	Social Accountability using Community Score card tracking the provision of youth friendly services.
Counter Trafficking and Addressing Irregular Migration through Strengthening Boarder and Migration Management, Sensitization on TIP and Building Capacity of Law Enforcement and Boarder Officials in Lesotho.	counter trafficking targeting vulnerable communities	Maseru, Qacha’sNek, Mafeteng, MohalesHoek and Quthing	Awareness on Trafficking in persons (TIP) Capacity building of community leaders and Community	15000	International Organisation on Migration & Japanese Government	Awareness raising on TIP, referral pathways; targeting both adults and children through print materials, community education sessions, and video presentations.
Advocacy activities for VMMC in Lesotho	Adolescent boys and young men for VMMC services	Berea	VMMC	735	JHPIEGO	Mobilisation of Adolescent boys and young men through advocacy activities geared towards promoting Voluntary Male Medical Circumcision (VMMC) for males aged 10years Berea district. The overall aim of VMMC advocacy activities was to contribute to PEPFAR’s goal of providing VMMC services.
Sexual Health promotion through Sports.	Adolescent and youth	Mafeteng	ASRHR	160	Tackle Africa	Sexual health through football. Use the power and popularity of football to deliver HIV and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) information and services to young people on football pitches
Covid 19 awareness Project	Migrants	Mafeteng and Leribe	Covid 19 Screening, awareness and referral	50000	International Organisation on Migration	Mobilising boarder communities, use of peer educators at both legal and illegal boarder points, screening of travellers and referrals to boarder Covid 19 testing sites.

14. Structural Interventions-Skillshare Lesotho (SKL) partners with faith leaders in most of its health programs as a key strategy for improving demand for health services. Skillshare has tools (designed for both Christian and Muslim faiths) that are used in multiple programs and utilizes theological doctrines to promote healthy behaviours and positive masculinity using messaging that appeals to the faith and values of the communities. The tools help leaders incorporate health and SBCC messages into religious discussions, and offer guiding questions and techniques for holding discussions on often tricky issues. Skillshare further helps build the capacity of faith-based networks to address HIV through the district-level religious structure.

Additionally, Skillshare in partnership with UNICEF and VSO has HIV prevention program activities targeting out-of-school adolescents. SKL reduces HIV vulnerability among more than 8,000 AGYW through evidence-based, comprehensive HIV prevention approaches that go beyond the health sector to address the structural factors that increase girls’ risk of HIV infection, including poverty, gender inequality, sexual violence, and a lack of education. These activities have included providing gender- based violence training to AGYW, their male partners, and family members; conducting HTS; linkage to cash transfers, education subsidies, and connecting AGYW to vocational training; and training and working with AGYW mentors to provide training on life skills, family planning choices, and HIV prevention to their peers.

15. Monitoring &Evaluation Experience-Skillshare Lesotho has extensive expertise in developing and strengthening both community- and organisational-level M&E systems that are designed to capture information for program improvement. Skillshare Lesotho is well-versed with national HIV indicators, and also collects and analyses its program data, and uses the information derived from the data to make strategic decisions. The organization has a well-resourced M&E department whose main function is to monitor program performance through data collection, analysis, and utilisation.