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Dr Mitchell Besser and Ms Pat Qolo |
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Imagine being told that you are not only pregnant but HIV-positive as well. For the hundreds of thousands of South African women who have received this news, there has been little support from overworked clinic staff, and frequently little or no support from their families or communities either. Who then could they turn to for help, or to answer all their questions? How do I tell my partner or my family? What happens if they throw me out? Will my baby have the disease too? How can I protect my baby? How soon will I become sick? Who will look after my baby if I die?
Dr. Mitch Besser, a charming and enthusiastic American obstetrician who
moved to Cape Town in 2000, quickly realised these women needed much
more than medical care. They needed psychosocial support as well as
education to help them cope with their diagnosis and the impact of HIV
disease on their pregnancy and lives thereafter. He also realised that
HIV-positive mothers who had already given birth and been through the
prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programme would make
ideal mentors to help newly diagnosed pregnant women. Some of these
women were therefore given training and asked to help form a support
group for the new mothers. He called this group
mothers-to-mothers-to-be or m2m2B. From a single support group at
Groote Schuur hospital in 2001, the programme has been so successful it
has now grown into a multinational Non-Profit Organisation with 89
operational sites in South Africa and 15 in Lesotho. The programme is
also operating in Ethiopia and Botswana and is expected to start
operation in Rwanda, Kenya and Zambia by the end of 2007.
Each month over 25 000 HIV-positive mothers are now given support, care
and advice from over 400 trained Mentor Mothers. And as a result the
rate of HIV transmission to infants has been significantly reduced and
the overall health of the mother and baby significantly increased. This
is a testament to the effectiveness of the programme and Dr Besser is
quick to give full credit to the remarkable women themselves, rather
than himself.
Recently renamed the mothers2mothers (m2m) programme, it has expanded
to include care, support and training for HIV-positive mothers both pre
and post delivery. With the increasing availability of antiretroviral
treatment the Mentor Mothers also play an important part in promoting
treatment adherence in the new mothers. Mothers Creations is another
aspect of the programme that teaches the women income-generating and
financial management skills to further their independence and
self-sufficiency. Mentor Mothers also promote HIV education within
their communities and work to destigmatise the disease.
The m2m programme is a simple concept but with multiple benefits which
empower both the receiver and the giver. The new mothers are well
supported by experienced women who understand what they are going
through as they have been through the same process. Once mothers have
been through this process they are allowed to become Mentor Mothers for
a period of 13 months, after which new Mentor Mothers are recruited and
trained. These women are highly regarded by healthcare providers and
well paid by the organisation for their invaluable contribution to the
PMTCT programme. Dr Besser's aim is to see Mentor Mothers operating at
every maternity site in the country. The overall cost of the programme
is around R200 per woman, a very small price to pay to empower women
and enable them to make more positive choices for themselves and their
babies.
Pat Qolo was one of the first women to be recruited by Dr Besser to
help him expand the programme into other areas in the Western Cape. In
1999 she started working as a Lifeline counsellor at the Site B
Community Health Centre in Khayelitsha. There she was asked by a group
of newly diagnosed HIV-positive mothers to help them form a support
group. They would meet regularly but did not know what else to do,
other than support each other. Dr Besser then started coming through
every Thursday to work at Site B and heard about the group. He
recruited them into the programme and in 2002 employed Pat Qolo as a
fulltime trainer for the m2m programme. In 2005 she was stationed at
Etafeni Day Care Centre in Nyanga. Here she is integrating the m2m
programme into the services offered by this large and effective
non-profit organisation which helps AIDS-affected and vulnerable
children and their families. When asked about her work with the
mothers2mothers programme she replied, “It is so wonderful to watch the
women change and become strong. Oh so strong…………and empowered. It is
such a good thing for them. For all of us.”
For more information on the m2m programme see the AIDSbuzz directory
entries under this name, contact the head office on 021 466 9185, email
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
or visit their website at www.m2m.org
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