The first case of AIDS in Lesotho was discovered in 1986. Early efforts to address the spread of HIV were thwarted by poor organization and a lack of resources. By the early 2000s, the AIDS epidemic in Lesotho had grown to alarming proportions and the death rate had skyrocketed. The public was inadequately informed about how the disease spread and how transmission could be prevented. As the infection and death rate grew, stigmatization and discrimination of the ill grew too. Though government programs were being designed to address this health crisis, mobilization of the resources to implement the programs was lagging. Non-government organizations (NGOs) and foreign government programs were bringing aid, but almost 90% of Lesotho's population was scattered in remote rural areasIrish Aid: Connecting Health Research in Africa and Ireland Consortium (ChRAIC), Knowledge Synthesis Report, 2010 that were difficult to reach and often out of range of aid programs. New strategies were needed to reach the affected people.
