Lesotho Food and Nutrition Security Strategy and Costed Action Plan (2019–2023).

This Plan provides the framework for addressing the country’s persistent challenges in food security and nutrition. Covering the period 2019–2023, it responds to widespread malnutrition, including high rates of child stunting, maternal undernutrition and emerging issues of overweight and diet-related diseases. Food insecurity is compounded by structural factors such as low agricultural productivity, limited dietary diversity, poverty, environmental degradation, and vulnerability to climate-related shocks, including droughts and erratic rainfall.
The Plan adopts a multi-sectoral approach, integrating interventions across agriculture, health, education, social protection, water and sanitation, and disaster preparedness. It emphasizes both nutrition-specific measures, such as maternal and child health services, infant and young child feeding, micronutrient supplementation, and management of acute malnutrition (and nutrition-sensitive interventions) including diversified crop and livestock production, strengthened household and community food systems, climate-resilient agriculture, and improved access to safe water and sanitation. Gender equity and women’s empowerment are recognized as cross-cutting priorities, supporting improved care practices and enhancing household food security.
A central component of the Strategy is its costed Action Plan, which identifies priority interventions, assigns responsibilities across ministries and local authorities, and provides detailed financial estimates for implementation. Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms are embedded to track progress, ensure accountability, and guide adaptive management. The Plan also emphasizes sustainable management of natural resources, including soil, land, and water, to protect agricultural productivity, restore degraded ecosystems, and enhance resilience to climate variability.