{"id":67460,"date":"2026-03-28T16:43:05","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T16:43:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/lesotho-us-mou-not-binding-according-to-mochoboroane"},"modified":"2026-03-29T16:05:41","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T16:05:41","slug":"lesotho-us-mou-not-binding-according-to-mochoboroane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/lesotho-us-mou-not-binding-according-to-mochoboroane","title":{"rendered":"Lesotho-US MOU Not Binding According to Mochoboroane"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

What You Need to Know<\/h4>\n

Lesotho’s Minister of Health, Selibe Mochoboroane, stated that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the US is not binding due to amendments made by the government. The Minister highlighted the importance of the agreement for health data sharing and laboratory funding, asserting that it would benefit the nation. The motion to support the MOU was adopted by the National Assembly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Africa-Press – Lesotho. <\/strong> <\/span>The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the government of Lesotho and the United States is not binding as the country managed to rectify some of the clauses within its draft.<\/p>\n

This, was said by the Minister of Health Mr. Selibe Mochoboroane in the National Assembly on Friday when supporting the motion moved by a Member of Parliament Rev. Paul Masiu, which requested the House to rescind its decision of suspending and halting the MOU on government to government contained in the Consolidated Report on the Annual Budget and Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for 2026\/2027 financial year, adopted on March 17 as the decision will have serious adverse implications for the country.<\/p>\n

Mr. Mochoboroane said the government disagreed on the issue of sharing data on HIV and TB with the US for a period of 25 years instead reduced it to five years, clarifying that sharing of data on above is not a new as the Ministry has been sharing it with the World Health Organization and Southern African Development Community (SADC).<\/p>\n

He added that the country is also sticking to five years\u2019 agreement in sharing specimen for either TB or HIV, stressing that sharing of data specimen will not be a health hazard to Basotho.<\/p>\n

He also said there was clause in MOU draft which indicated that medication should be used if it was approved by the regulatory authority, but the country disagreed, citing that the country ran further tests for HIV injection ( Lenacapavir) which has recently been introduced.<\/p>\n

He therefore indicated that the country would be faced with challenges if the MOU could be suspended or halted as the local laboratory facilities are also funded by the US, remanding that the latter has financially supported the country with about M17 billion in reduction of HIV infection since 2007.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, Basotho National Party (BNP) Leader Mr. Machesetsa Mofomobe also supported the motion, saying data to be shared would be anonymized, however advising the government to upgrade its medical storage facilities.<\/p>\n

He also said the laboratory facilities to be upgraded as per MOU would benefit Basotho, saying partnership between Lesotho and US has always been reliable.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis agreement is good for Basotho and it\u2019s not about the Minister or the government\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile the motion was adopted and the House adjourned until April 24 for Easter holidays.<\/p>\n

The relationship between Lesotho and the United States has been characterized by collaborative efforts in health and development, particularly in combating HIV\/AIDS. Since 2007, the US has invested significantly in Lesotho’s health sector, providing financial support to reduce HIV infections. The recent MOU aimed to formalize this partnership, although concerns over data sharing and regulatory approvals have emerged, prompting discussions in the National Assembly regarding its implications for public health and safety.<\/p>\n

Find more news and analyses on Lesotho<\/span> on the Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What You Need to Know Lesotho’s Minister of Health, Selibe Mochoboroane, stated that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the US is not binding due to amendments made by the government. The Minister highlighted the importance of the agreement for health data sharing and laboratory funding, asserting that it would benefit the nation. The motion […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":67459,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[424,227,245,6914,443],"class_list":["post-67460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-government","tag-health","tag-lesotho","tag-mou","tag-us"],"yoast_head":"\nLesotho-US MOU Not Binding According to Mochoboroane - Lesotho<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Lesotho's Health Minister clarifies that the US MOU is non-binding after amendments, emphasizing its importance for health.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/lesotho-us-mou-not-binding-according-to-mochoboroane\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lesotho-US MOU Not Binding According to Mochoboroane\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lesotho's Health Minister clarifies that the US MOU is non-binding after amendments, emphasizing its importance for health.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/lesotho-us-mou-not-binding-according-to-mochoboroane\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lesotho\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-28T16:43:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-29T16:05:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2026\/03\/sm_1774720184.505838.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/lesotho-us-mou-not-binding-according-to-mochoboroane#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/lesotho-us-mou-not-binding-according-to-mochoboroane\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Lesotho-US MOU Not Binding According to Mochoboroane\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-28T16:43:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-29T16:05:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/lesotho-us-mou-not-binding-according-to-mochoboroane\"},\"wordCount\":548,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/lesotho-us-mou-not-binding-according-to-mochoboroane#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2026\/03\/sm_1774720184.505838.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"government\",\"Health\",\"Lesotho\",\"MoU\",\"US\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/lesotho-us-mou-not-binding-according-to-mochoboroane#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/lesotho-us-mou-not-binding-according-to-mochoboroane\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/lesotho-us-mou-not-binding-according-to-mochoboroane\",\"name\":\"Lesotho-US MOU Not Binding According to Mochoboroane - 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