Abstract
Sub-Saharan Africa is a home of the world’s poorest countries. After more than half a century since independence, Lesotho remains in the list of the poor countries in Sub-Saharan Africa despite the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals, Sustainable Development Goals, and Agenda 2063. The aim of this paper is to examine the causes of poverty in the country together with the solutions taken to combat it. The paper asks the following questions: What are the main causes of poverty in Lesotho? What solutions has the government put in place to reduce it? The paper anchors on content analysis to provide answers to these questions. It argues that poverty and its ills remain pervasive in Lesotho because of the government’s poor policies and failure to create job opportunities. The paper shows that the government of Lesotho has closed gender disparity in terms of educational attainment and health and survival. It has also developed a robust social protection system to reduce poverty among the elderly population, people living with disabilities, children, and women in the country. Despite this success, the government has reversed the gains made since 2006 in terms of political empowerment and economic participation and opportunities. Notwithstanding, the SDGs and Agenda 2063 provides a room for the government to reduce poverty in the country by making good on its promises entailed in the two international instruments.