mothers2mothers South Africa tackles the issue of mother-to-child transmission of HIV by training and employing HIV-positive mothers to work with local healthcare teams and provide training and support to pregnant women and young mothers who are also living with the virus.
The challenge(s) that mothers2mothers South Africa is addressing:
South Africa is among the countries most severely affected by the global HIV epidemic and has the highest prevalence rate of HIV in pregnant women in the world – a staggering 30%. Without treatment, 15 to 30% of these women’s babies will become infected with HIV during pregnancy or delivery, and a further 5 to 20% will contract the virus through breastfeeding.
80 newborn babies are infected with HIV every day in South Africa, despite the fact that early action can tremendously reduce a baby’s chances of infection. Tragically, the stigma borne by HIV-positive women prevents many from accessing or even seeking the education and healthcare that could protect their children from contracting the virus.
mothers2mothers relies on a simple yet innovative and highly effective model: they employ mothers already living with HIV to mentor other HIV-positive expectant women and young mothers, teaching them what they can do to increase the likelihood that their baby will be born HIV-negative and remain healthy throughout his or her life. Through support groups and one-on-one peer education sessions, these so-called “Mentor Mothers” provide much-needed support as well as crucial information on a range of issues, one of which is the importance of disclosing one’s status to family members. Breaking the taboo is a vital step towards the prevention of mother-to-child transmission because a woman who has disclosed her status to her partner and family is significantly more likely to seek out and keep up with treatment and counsel, and, crucially, to take the antiretroviral drugs (ARV) that can prevent in utero transmission of HIV.
Moreover, by providing Mentor Mothers with a stable income, mothers2mothers helps raise the social status of these HIV-positive women and gives them a voice within their community, enabling them to inspire and reach out to more HIV-positive mothers. Mentor Mothers encourage HIV-positive mothers to take ARVs, educate them about the importance of nutrition, offer guidance on safe breastfeeding, and support women as they disclose their HIV-positive status and thereby make themselves freer to protect their babies’ and their own health. Their vital work helps to ensure that more children in South Africa are born free of HIV and shows women that having HIV does not have to keep them from leading full, positive, and productive lives.
You can be a changemaker!
You can support this tremendously important work and enable more babies to be born into a healthy, happy life. Your donation helps to:
- Maintain a lifeline between Mentor Mothers and their clients by covering the costs of their regular telephone calls;
- Provide nutritious meals for pregnant women and new mothers living with HIV, during their support groups with Mentor Mothers;
- Finance a Mentor Mother’s salary so that she can continue to offer education and support to HIV-positive mothers while earning an essential income;
- Cover the costs of creating illustrated education cards that provide pregnant women and new mothers living with HIV with the crucial knowledge they need to keep themselves and their families healthy.
The difference you can make: the impact of your giving
Even the smallest donation can help protect a child from HIV infection. You can help change the lives of women and children in the most wonderful and simple way, replacing fear and stigma with health and hope!
Relevant Country Data:
Capital: Pretoria
Population: 50.6 million
GDP per capita: $8,070
Population living below $1.25 PPP per day: 13.77%
Adult population living with HIV: 17.3%
Infant mortality rate (probability of dying between birth and age 1 per 1,000 live births): 34.6
Maternal mortality rate (deaths of women per 100,000 live births): 300
Life expectancy at birth: 53.5 years
