Local health risk management company, Vitality Health, this week launched the BopheloShelong Medical Scheme, a groundbreaking milestone in pursuit of accessible and quality healthcare for all Basotho.
The company said the introduction of a new medical scheme is affirmation of a shared vision, as well as a healthier, more secure, and more inclusive Lesotho.
This scheme offers unlimited pre-hospital and day-to-day medical coverage, comprehensive in-hospital benefits, integrated wellness and preventive health programmes. It also is a customer-first service approach, ensuring convenience, transparency, and dignity in every interaction.
Executive Director of Vitality Health, Semethe Raleche, said the journey to this moment has been long and deliberate, built on years of research, innovation, and an unwavering belief that every Mosotho deserves dignified access to healthcare.
Vitality Health’s mission has always been to study the health challenges confronting the nation and to design sustainable solutions that empower Basotho to protect themselves and their families.
According to the 2017/2018 Household Budget Survey conducted by the Bureau of Statistics, and with the 2025 Continuous Multipurpose Household Survey (CMS/HBS) underway, only 1.3 percent of Basotho are covered by any form of medical insurance. This is a stark indicator of market failure, where the solutions available are simply not meeting the needs or affordability of the majority.
Semethe said this means that over 98 percent of the population remains without meaningful protection against medical risk, relying largely on overstretched public facilities or personal savings when illness strikes.
“At Vitality Health, we are determined to close that gap. We are driven by the conviction that healthcare access must never be a privilege it must be a right,” he noted.
Semethe explained that through BopheloShelong Medical Scheme, Vitality Health are offering a bold new model of healthcare financing that meets people where they are affordable, comprehensive, and compassionate.
“Our mission is to empower the uninsured (98.1 percent) and the underinsured (1.3 percent) by introducing solutions that are both practical and attainable. We achieve this by focusing on prehospital and preventive care, while complementing existing players who primarily cover in-hospital risks,” he noted.
In its mission statement, Vitality Health says Bophelosheleng is not here to compete; it is here to complete the ecosystem of healthcare protection, ensuring that from the moment risk arises to the point of hospitalisation, every Mosotho is covered.
Bophelosheleng is more than a product, it is a movement for health equity and empowerment. It is our promise to walk with you through every stage of life, ensuring that you and your loved ones can live fully, fearlessly, and in good health, it adds.
‘Matlhohonolofatso Seliane, Principal Specialist: Health, Safety and Wellbeing at Vodacom Lesotho said they firmly believe that connectivity saves live.
Seliane said their partnership with Vitality Health originates from a shared purpose to harness innovation and technology in order to improve health outcomes for the Basotho people.
“Through comprehensive medical services, our staff now enjoy seamless 24-hour emergency medical coverage delivered by Vitality Health, medical ambulances and clinical network,” she added.
