The Lesotho government has launched a four-year plan to reduce new HIV infections among children by 50 percent and ensure that all HIV-infected children have access to life-prolonging antiretroviral (ARV) treatment. Mother-to-child transmission is the leading cause of HIV infection in children.

As Lesotho's newly-elected legislators settle down to the task of governing, activists are expressing disappointment at the low representation of women in the country's parliament.

The newly opened Baylor Children's Centre of Excellence in Maseru, one of seven that the Baylor International Paediatric AIDS Initiative (BIPAI) has established in Africa since 2003, is a gleaming, state-of-the-art facility which shows what can be achieved when foreign expertise and resources combine with government commitment. Despite this, of the 18,000 children UNAIDS estimates are living with HIV in Lesotho, only 6.3 percent are accessing ARV treatment.

Tom Thabane's decision to walk out on Lesotho's government four months ago after becoming frustrated with the levels of corruption was vindicated yesterday by election results giving his new party a significant presence in the national assembly.When Mr Thabane quit the Lesotho cabinet to form his own party he said he could no longer stomach government corruption.

The ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) has won the 2007 elections after it grabbed more than half of the 120 seats in Lesotho's parliament, warding off a strong challenge from a new opposition.