HIV/AIDS in Lesotho constitutes a very serious threat to Basotho and to Lesotho's economic development. Since its initial detection in 1986, HIV/AIDS has spread at alarming rates in Lesotho. In 2000, King Letsie III declared HIV/AIDS a natural disaster. According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in 2016, Lesotho's adult prevalence rate of 25% is the second highest in the world, following Eswatini.
HIV has affected the majority of the general population, while disproportionately affecting the rural, working-age population. The spread of HIV in Lesotho is compounded by cultural practices, serodiscordancy, and gender-based violence. Lack of developed sexual education programs in schools places the young demographic at increased risk of HIV infection.
