COVID-19 spurs innovation through digitalization – The Reporter Lesotho | Fresh News, Daily

The UN in Lesotho has established three new digital applications which will help in responding to the needs of COVID-19 in allowing economic activity to continue alongside social distancing.

The office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Lesotho stated that under a pressing need to find new development solutions that provide long-term development gains, those applications are, Bophelo-ka-Mosebeletsi, Lehokela Crime Alerts App, and ‘Marakeng oa Basotho, and are implemented courtesy of  collaboration between the UN, Ministry of Health and Econet.

The Lehokela Crime Alerts App enables victims to report incidences of abuse without alerting perpetrators. To support the roll-out of the app, 30 community policing committee members (21 female and nine male), four chiefs (three male and one female) and two police members (one male and one female) have been trained and recruited to respond to reports of violence.

‘Marakeng oa Basotho is an e-market platform established to connect farmers, including smallholder farmers, to markets and to encourage a digital economic recovery. To date, 90 food suppliers have been registered on the e-market platform and have started supplying retailers with their produce.