Integrating an Early Childhood Development Intervention into an Existing Community-Based Primary Healthcare Platform in Rural Lesotho

Partners In Health Lesotho (PIHL) will pilot the integration of an early childhood development (ECD) intervention into an existing primary care platform across the continuum of facility- and community-based care in a poor, mountainous area of Mohale’s Hoek, Lesotho. Mothers and other caregivers will learn parenting behavior and developmental interactions during postnatal clinic visits and home visits by village health workers (VHWs), improving access for this hard-to-reach population. This integration addresses multiple risk factors for childhood development in a population for whom ECD services are currently unavailable. The potential impact will be to demonstrate the feasibility of a low-cost preventative implementation model to reduce the risk of developmental delays and strengthen caregivers’ knowledge and practices. The project will be a catalytic investment to scale the integration of ECD into primary care by leveraging the Government of Lesotho’s (GOL) National Health Reform.