Mpho Matlotliso Maketekete Khesa is the Programme Childhood TB and Training Coordinator at the Ministry of Health in Lesotho, where she supports health facilities across the country to strengthen childhood TB detection and care.
Through The Union's training programmes, Mpho took part in two courses: Child and Adolescent TB and Operational Research. For her, the interactive format made a big difference.
"Both trainings were highly interactive and very informative,” she says. “There were built-in opportunities for feedback and follow-up, which meant we could clarify concepts in real time and really stay engaged throughout."
One of the most important takeaways came from the Child and Adolescent TB course, which reshaped how she supports health facilities in her role.
"The course gave me practical skills in mentorship and supervision," Mpho explains. "It changed how I work with health facilities. Instead of simply sharing information, I now focus on actively guiding teams and building their capacity."
Mpho was also able to extend the impact of the training by cascading it to other districts through a training-of-trainers approach, helping spread the knowledge across Lesotho.
"Using the training-of-trainers approach allowed us to reach multiple districts and share best practices more widely."
Applying these mentorship and supervision strategies led to clear impact.
"After implementing what I learned, we saw a measurable increase in childhood TB notification rates across Lesotho, as well as more consistent case detection and management."
By strengthening support to health facilities and sharing best practices across districts, teams were able to improve case detection and management.
For Mpho, the courses have also played an important role in her professional development. They strengthened her skills in training facilitation, research and giving constructive feedback, skills she now uses every day in her work.
She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in public health and says the Operational Research course has been particularly valuable in helping her apply research methods in her studies.
“Beyond the technical knowledge, the courses changed my outlook. They showed me that capacity building and evidence-based practice go far beyond any single programme.”
“As a childhood TB officer and training coordinator in the National TB Programme, I’ve benefited immensely from these courses. I would gladly recommend them to anyone working in the field.”
Be sure to read the full story about childhood TB notifications increasing in Lesotho following enhanced training of healthcare workers across the country.