mothers2mothers

mothers2mothers

Founder(s)	Dr. Mitch Besser, Gene Falk, Robin Allinson Smalley
Type	Operating public charity (IRS exemption status): 501(c)(3)
Founded	2001
Location	Cape Town, South Africa
Focus	Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV
Revenue	$15.6 million (2009)[1]
Motto	Helping Mothers, Saving Babies
Website	www.m2m.org

mothers2mothers is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV by providing education and support for pregnant women and new mothers living with HIV.

Founded in 2001, the organization currently works in over 700 sites in 9 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and employs over 1700 women living with HIV.^[2]

History

mothers2mothers was founded by Dr. Mitchell Besser at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa in 2001.^[3]

In January 2000 Besser moved to Cape Town, South Africa as a member of the University of Cape Town's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and as a consultant for the clinical roll-out of Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) services at Groote Schuur Hospital.^[4]

While working at Groote Schuur, Besser realized that even when PMTCT medical treatment was available, it was often less than effective because of social, emotional and psychological barriers to success.^[5] To help break through those barriers, Besser identified South Africa's HIV-positive mothers as a "valuable, under-utilized resource."^[4] Besser enlisted new mothers living openly with HIV/AIDS who, as Mentor Mothers, began to connect with and educate their pregnant peers about the importance of PMTCT services, disclosing their status to loved ones, and living positive lives. The result of these efforts is mothers2mothers today.^[3]

In recent years, as the program has expanded internationally, the organization has taken on the name mothers2mothers + [Country X], e.g. mothers2mothers South Africa and mothers2mothers Kenya. However, worldwide and in the press, the organization is holistically known as mothers2mothers.

Goals and the mothers2mothers Model

Three main goals drive mothers2mothers’s work:

• to prevent babies from contracting HIV through mother-to-child transmission
• to keep HIV-positive mothers and their infants alive and healthy by increasing their access to health sustaining medical care
• to empower mothers living with HIV/AIDS, enabling them to fight stigma in their communities and to live positive and productive lives ^[6]

mothers2mothers achieves these three goals through its service model:

Mothers living with HIV are employed to mentor HIV-positive pregnant women and new mothers in health facilities. They work side-by-side with doctors and nurses, as paid members of the health care team, supporting and educating women about how to take care of themselves and their babies.

The mothers employed by mothers2mothers come from the communities in which they work. They help provide a solution to the lack of health care providers in Africa. They help combat stigma and empower and guide other women, making them aware of treatments and services that are available, saving lives.^[7]

mothers2mothers and the MDGs

Through its service model, mothers2mothers advances the following United Nations Millenium Development Goals (MDGs):

• 3-promoting gender equality and empowering women
• 4-reducing child mortality
• 5-improving maternal health
• 6-combating HIV/AIDS

Results

The mothers2mothers program currently operates in 714 sites in the following countries:

• Kenya
• Lesotho
• Malawi
• Rwanda
• South Africa
• Swaziland
• Tanzania
• Uganda
• Zambia

mothers2mothers employs over 1700 women living with HIV.^[2]

In 2010, mothers2mothers enrolled approximately 300,000 unique HIV-positive pregnant women and new mothers into its program.^[5]

Awards and Recognition

• 2006 Global Women’s Health Award from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in New York^[8]
• 2007 Platinum Award from Impumelelo Social Trust (South Africa) for outstanding innovations that reduce poverty and address key developmental issues of national concern^[9]
• 2007 mothers2mothers is selected as one of the top 100 NGOs in the world (and the only African based organization) for public private partnerships, in a study conducted for the UN and published in the Financial Times^[7]
• 2008 Dr Mitch Besser is awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal^[10]
• 2008 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship ^[5]
• 2009 Schwab Foundation Africa Regional Social Entrepreneur^[11]
• 2010 Global Health Council’s Best Practices in Global Health Award ^[5]
• 2010 Social Entrepreneur of the Year from Impumelelo Social Trust (South Africa)

External links

• mothers2mothers official website

• mothers2mothers YouTube channel

References

1. ^ mothers2mothers 2009 Annual Report
2. ^ ^{a b} "m2m.org/ Where We Work". mothers2mothers. http://www.m2m.org/what-we-do/where-we-work.html. Retrieved 24 May 2011. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Caelers, Di (26 June 2010). "Recognising a mother's love". Weekend Argus. http://www.m2m.org/files/pdf/WeekendArgus_June2010.pdf. Retrieved 20 May 2011. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Dr. Mitch Besser". m2m.org About Us/ Our Team. m2m.org. http://www.m2m.org/about-us/our-team/dr-mitch-besser.html. Retrieved 20 May 2011. 
5. ^ ^{a b c d} Loewenberg, Samuel (2). "Profile: Mitch Besser--helping motherswith HIV become mentors". The Lancet 377 (9772): 1145. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60452-2. http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2811%2960452-2/fulltext. Retrieved 16 May 2011. 
6. ^ Gene Falk; Cynthia Schweer, Julia Coyner Robinson (2009). Innovating for the health of all. (Volume 6 ed.). Woodbridge: Pro-Brook for Global Forum for Health Research. pp. 34–38. ISBN 978-2-940401-24-6. http://www.globalforumhealth.org/Media-Publications/Publications/Global-Forum-Update-on-Research-for-Health-Volume-6-Innovating-for-the-Health-of-All. Retrieved 16 May 2011. 
7. ^ ^{a b} "mothers2mothers Case Study Please respect FT.com's ts&cs and copyright policy which allow you to: share links; copy content for personal use; & redistribute limited extracts - http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/c1b8604c-2acb-11dc-85f9-000b5df10621.html#ixzz1NBfYT9cu from the UN Global Compact and Dalberg report". Financial Times. 5 July 2007. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/c1b8604c-2acb-11dc-85f9-000b5df10621,dwp_uuid=c1927432-1f9e-11dc-ac86-000b5df10621.html#axzz1NBR7kqvW. Retrieved 23 May 2011. 
8. ^ "2005_2006 Annual Report". mothers2mothers. http://www.m2m.org/files/pdf/2005_2006_annual_report.pdf. Retrieved 23 May 2011. 
9. ^ "Social Innovations South Africa- Impumelelo Innovation Awards". Impumelelo. http://www.impumelelo.blogspot.com/. Retrieved 23 May 2011. 
10. ^ "The President Participates in a Ceremony for 2008 Recipients of the Presidential Citizens Medal". The President Participates in a Ceremony for 2008 Recipients of the Presidential Citizens Medal. The White House. http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2008/12/20081210-3.html. Retrieved 16 May 2011. 
11. ^ "World Economic Forum Events 2009". Schwab Foundation. http://www.schwabfound.org/sf/Events/WorldEconomicForumEvents/2009/index.htm. Retrieved 23 May 2011.