Lesotho: Pension System Works

Twenty dollars seems a meagre amount, but it has brought an end to backbreaking toil and food insecurity for many of Lesotho's elderly. Two years ago the government of the small landlocked country started a pension system for citizens over the age of 70. Today, more than 76, 000 people are receiving a monthly pension of approximately 20 dollars. Whereas such steps in Southern Africa are frequently taken at the behest of donors or the international financial institutions, Lesotho's government introduced the grant in order to address worsening poverty among the elderly.