mothers2mothers: Mentor Mother Model

At the height of the AIDS pandemic in 2001, mothers2mothers’ (m2m) Founder, Dr. Mitch Besser MD, was struggling to get pregnant women newly diagnosed with HIV in South Africa to access lifesaving treatment, when he hit on an idea—employ former patients who had successfully adhered to treatment and given birth to an HIV-free child as peers called “Mentor Mothers” to help others walk this same path. This simple peer-based model quickly caught on and proved effective—supporting mothers to stay healthy and children to be born HIV-free. Fast-forward two decades and m2m has grown into an organization that employs Mentor Mothers as community health workers across ten African nations, and has reached over 11M pregnant women, new mothers, and children. We have achieved virtual elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV among our enrolled clients for six years in a row, with a transmission rate of just 1.9% in 2019, significantly lower than the United Nations benchmark of 5%. Our model has been held up as best practice by UNAIDS, UNICEF and others. We have also leveraged our model and the strong relationships Mentor Mothers build with their clients to deliver complementary services that help entire families thrive, in such areas as early childhood development, adolescent health, and non-communicable diseases. We have also created livelihood and empowerment opportunities for over 11,000 African women living with HIV, who might otherwise be among society’s most marginalized.

Last update: October 05, 2023