Dr. Mamello Sefali

Dr. Mamello Sefali is a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at Queen Mamohato Memorial Hospital (QMMH) in Maseru — Lesotho's flagship referral hospital and the country's most advanced healthcare facility, operated through a public-private partnership. With 10 years of OB/GYN practice, Dr. Sefali is one of Lesotho's most experienced specialists in women's reproductive and maternal health, providing care across the spectrum from antenatal surveillance to complex gynaecological surgery.

Maternal health is a critical public health priority in Lesotho, which has historically had one of sub-Saharan Africa's highest maternal mortality ratios. QMMH was established in 2011 as part of Lesotho's efforts to transform healthcare delivery, and Dr. Sefali's work is central to improving maternal outcomes at the country's leading obstetric centre. She manages high-risk pregnancies — including those complicated by HIV, preeclampsia, and gestational diabetes — which are common in Lesotho's patient population.

Lesotho has one of the world's highest HIV prevalence rates (approximately 22% in adults), and the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV is a major component of obstetric care. Dr. Sefali has extensive experience managing HIV-positive pregnant women through antenatal care, delivery, and the postpartum period to minimise transmission to newborns.

Dr. Sefali completed her MBChB at the University of Pretoria in South Africa — one of Southern Africa's leading medical universities — as part of Lesotho's established pattern of sending medical students to South African institutions for training. She returned to Lesotho for her internship before completing her MMed in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg, training at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital — one of the largest hospitals in the world and a leading centre for high-risk obstetrics and gynaecology in Africa.

She is a member of the South African Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (SASOG) and the East, Central and Southern Africa College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (ECSACOG). She is registered with the Lesotho Medical Association and licensed to practice by the Lesotho Medical, Dental and Pharmacy Council.

Dr. Sefali manages high-risk pregnancies in Lesotho's most advanced obstetric unit. Her high-risk obstetric practice includes the surveillance and delivery of pregnancies complicated by hypertension and preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, multiple gestation, preterm labour, and placental abnormalities. She performs emergency and planned caesarean sections, normal vaginal delivery, and instrumental delivery with vacuum or forceps.

In gynaecology, she performs diagnostic and operative hysteroscopy, myomectomy (abdominal and laparoscopic) for uterine fibroids, colposcopy and cervical biopsy for cervical dysplasia, and manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) for incomplete miscarriage and other uterine procedures. She manages all common gynaecological conditions including PCOS, abnormal uterine bleeding, ectopic pregnancy, and vulvovaginal infections. Family planning counselling and intrauterine contraceptive device insertion are part of her reproductive health practice.

Queen Mamohato Memorial Hospital is Lesotho's foremost hospital and serves both Basotho nationals and residents of the surrounding region, including South African citizens who live near the Lesotho border. Dr. Sefali consults in Sesotho, English, and Zulu — the three languages most commonly spoken by her patient population.

For complex gynaecological procedures or high-risk obstetric management not available in Maseru, Dr. Sefali coordinates referrals to partner hospitals in Bloemfontein and Johannesburg, South Africa, which are accessible within 2-3 hours of Maseru. She provides comprehensive referral documentation in English to facilitate seamless cross-border care.

Dr. Sefali has been recognised by the Lesotho Medical Association for her contributions to maternal health improvement at Queen Mamohato Memorial Hospital. She has participated in WHO and UNFPA-supported maternal health training programs in Lesotho and has contributed to the hospital's PMTCT quality improvement initiatives.

She presents at ECSACOG regional meetings on maternal outcomes and obstetric complication management in Lesotho and mentors junior doctors completing their OB/GYN rotations at QMMH. She is a member of the QMMH maternal mortality review committee.