With a prevalence rate of 23.2%, it is essential that HIV & AIDS be at the top of the development agenda. Through different programmatic interventions, UNDP has been supporting the Government and People of Lesotho in the response to HIV & AIDS. Initiatives supported by UNDP include the 'Know Your Status' campaign, scaling up the response through strengthening institutional mechanisms within the National AIDS Commission and line Ministries through Mainstreaming HIV & AIDS into development, and promoting greater involvement and empowerment of People living with HIV & AIDS.

UNDP is one of the UN partners within the Joint Programme of Support on AIDS (JUPSA). This programme is aligned with the Government of Lesotho National HIV & AIDS Strategic Plan (NSP 2006-2011) and has four areas of focus, which support the four Strategic Focus areas of the NSP:

1. Supportive environment - creating an enabling environment for universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support with good governance and gender equality;

2. Prevention - access to basic social services for prevention;

3. Treatment, care and support - Access to basic social services for treatment, care and support; and

4. Impact Mitigation - Access to basic social services with economic
   growth & poverty reduction;

While UNDP will support all of these areas in the Joint Programme of Support, our programmatic focus is on developing a Supportive Environment to combat HIV & AIDS.