mothers2mothers
2021 Annual Report
2021 was a milestone year at mothers2mothers (m2m) as we celebrated our 20th anniversary and the remarkable growth in scale, scope, and impact that our pioneering Mentor Mother Model has achieved since launching at a single health centre in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2001. Since then, m2m has evolved into a proudly African non-governmental organisation (NGO)—delivering integrated services designed to improve access to healthcare at all stages of life at health facilities, door-to-door in communities, and remotely through eServices, across 10 nations, and serving well over a million people each year.
None of that could have been possible without the extraordinary women at the heart of our work—who are trained and employed as Community Health Workers called Mentor Mothers, and deliver extraordinary results for marginalised communities.
What is the secret to Mentor Mothers’ success? They are mothers, sisters, aunts, neighbours, and friends—familiar faces in their communities—who understand first-hand the barriers to health facing other women and families, having overcome their own challenges. Through employment and the status afforded by in their role as health workers, Mentor Mothers become role models, leaders, and sought-after, trusted resources in their communities. They provide health services, and support, educate, and inspire other women and families to access the care and treatment they need to stay healthy and thrive—creating a ripple effect of positive change.
For two decades, Mentor Mothers have demonstrated that when women lead, communities get what they need. The results speak for themselves. Since m2m began, we have created nearly 12,000 quality jobs for women living with HIV as Community Health Workers. Together, since 2001, these women have reached oalmost 15M individuals with life-changing health services and education across 12 African nations. Over those years, Mentor Mothers have unlocked remarkable results for their communities and themselves—including helping to keep more than 2M women and children alive who might otherwise have been at increased risk of mortality, and helping more than 4.4M adults stay HIV-negative since 2013.
Our 2021 reach and impact data highlight how m2m’s Peer Mentor Model is more relevant and critical than ever, especially as growing inequities and health disparities threaten to leave women and other vulnerable populations behind in the United Nations Global Goal of creating good health and well-being for everyone. Even amid ongoing disruptions from COVID-19, Mentor Mothers provided life-changing health services, education, and support to more clients in 2021. That included reaching 51% more adolescents (ages 10-19), a population that is disproportionately at risk of contracting HIV in communities where we work. They also continued to deliver extraordinary impact—including achieving virtual elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV among their enrolled clients for the eighth consecutive year and meeting all of UNAIDS’ ambitious Fast-Track Targets for ending HIV/AIDS four years ahead of the 2025 target dates.
Of course, our success last year, and over the past 20 years, would not have been possible without the unwavering commitment and generous support of our donors, partners, Board Members and Trustees, staff, and friends. We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has supported and encouraged us over the years, helping us grow, innovate, and change with the times.
Last, but definitely not least, thank you to all of m2m's hard-working employees across the globe, and especially our frontline team whose skills, bravery, and tenacity over the last 20 years have transformed health outcomes for a generation.
To find out more about m2m’s first 20 years and the community-based female leaders who are creating real and tangible change across Africa, please continue scrolling to read Part One of our 2021 Annual Report.
Asante sana, Dankie, Enkosi, Ke a leboha, Natotela, Ndi a livhuhu, Ndza Khensa, Ngiyabonga, Ngiyathokoza, Nyanja, Obrigado, Siyabonga, Webale nyo, Zikomo, and Gracias…
With deep gratitude…and abrazos,
Frank Beadle de Palomo
President & Chief Executive Officer
2021 was a milestone year at mothers2mothers (m2m) as we celebrated our 20th anniversary and the remarkable growth in scale, scope, and impact that our pioneering Mentor Mother Model has achieved since launching at a single health centre in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2001. Since then, m2m has evolved into a proudly African non-governmental organisation (NGO)—delivering integrated services designed to improve access to healthcare at all stages of life at health facilities, door-to-door in communities, and remotely through eServices, across 10 nations, and serving well over a million people each year.
None of that could have been possible without the extraordinary women at the heart of our work—who are trained and employed as Community Health Workers called Mentor Mothers, and deliver extraordinary results for marginalised communities.
What is the secret to Mentor Mothers’ success? They are mothers, sisters, aunts, neighbours, and friends—familiar faces in their communities—who understand first-hand the barriers to health facing other women and families, having overcome their own challenges. Through employment and the status afforded by in their role as health workers, Mentor Mothers become role models, leaders, and sought-after, trusted resources in their communities. They provide health services, and support, educate, and inspire other women and families to access the care and treatment they need to stay healthy and thrive—creating a ripple effect of positive change.
For two decades, Mentor Mothers have demonstrated that when women lead, communities get what they need. The results speak for themselves. Since m2m began, we have created nearly 12,000 quality jobs for women living with HIV as Community Health Workers. Together, since 2001, these women have reached almost 15M individuals with life-changing health services and education across 12 African nations. Over those years, Mentor Mothers have unlocked remarkable results for their communities and themselves—including helping to keep more than 2M women and children alive who might otherwise have been at increased risk of mortality, and helping more than 4.4M adults stay HIV-negative since 2013.
Our 2021 reach and impact data highlight how m2m’s Peer Mentor Model is more relevant and critical than ever, especially as growing inequities and health disparities threaten to leave women and other vulnerable populations behind in the United Nations Global Goal of creating good health and well-being for everyone. Even amid ongoing disruptions from COVID-19, Mentor Mothers provided life-changing health services, education, and support to more clients in 2021. That included reaching 51% more adolescents (ages 10-19), a population that is disproportionately at risk of contracting HIV in communities where we work. They also continued to deliver extraordinary impact—including achieving virtual elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV among their enrolled clients for the eighth consecutive year and meeting all of UNAIDS’ ambitious Fast-Track Targets for ending HIV/AIDS four years ahead of the 2025 target dates.
Of course, our success last year, and over the past 20 years, would not have been possible without the unwavering commitment and generous support of our donors, partners, Board Members and Trustees, staff, and friends. We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has supported and encouraged us over the years, helping us grow, innovate, and change with the times.
Last, but definitely not least, thank you to all of m2m's hard-working employees across the globe, and especially our frontline team whose skills, bravery, and tenacity over the last 20 years have transformed health outcomes for a generation.
To find out more about m2m’s first 20 years and the community-based female leaders who are creating real and tangible change across Africa, please continue scrolling to read Part One of our 2021 Annual Report.
Asante sana, Dankie, Enkosi, Ke a leboha, Natotela, Ndi a livhuhu, Ndza Khensa, Ngiyabonga, Ngiyathokoza, Nyanja, Obrigado, Siyabonga, Webale nyo, Zikomo, and Gracias…
With deep gratitude…and abrazos,
Frank Beadle de Palomo
President & Chief Executive Officer
When m2m Founder Dr. Mitch Besser was volunteering as an obstetrician/gynaecologist at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa in 2001, HIV infections were near their peak. A potent cocktail of stigma, fear, and misinformation left pregnant women who tested HIV-positive too frightened to access treatment that would keep them healthy and prevent their children from contracting HIV.
Mitch noticed how Elaine Maane, a health counsellor and translator he worked with, was able to connect with patients in a meaningful way. She too was living with HIV, and was from the same community and spoke the same language as their patients. That connection helped reassure and support women to return to the health centre for lifesaving care and treatment.
Mitch came up with a simple, yet equally visionary idea—mothers living with HIV could serve as peer counsellors to other women sharing similar experiences.
Mentor Mothers, and the deep connections and trust they have in their communities, remain at the heart of everything we do.
When m2m Founder Dr. Mitch Besser was volunteering as an obstetrician/gynaecologist at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa in 2001, HIV infections were near their peak. A potent cocktail of stigma, fear, and misinformation left pregnant women who tested HIV-positive too frightened to access treatment that would keep them healthy and prevent their children from contracting HIV.
Mitch noticed how Elaine Maane, a health counsellor and translator he worked with, was able to connect with patients in a meaningful way. She too was living with HIV, and was from the same community and spoke the same language as their patients. That connection helped reassure and support women to return to the health centre for lifesaving care and treatment.
Mitch came up with a simple, yet equally visionary idea—mothers living with HIV could serve as peer counsellors to other women sharing similar experiences.
Mentor Mothers, and the deep connections and trust they have in their communities, remain at the heart of everything we do.
m2m started at a single site in Cape Town in 2001, with a few frontline staff focused on preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV and keeping mothers alive.
Today, we employ nearly 2,000 women at hundreds of locations across 10 African nations.
By partnering with governments and implementing partners, and providing technical support, we have scaled our reach and impact even further.
Mentor Mothers now work both in health facilities and door-to-door in communities through an integrated model designed to improve access to healthcare.
Accelerated by COVID-19, Mentor Mothers also provide services to hundreds of thousands of clients each year by telephone and smartphone apps carefully integrated with in-person services.
While still committed to ending paediatric AIDS, today m2m provides services that address the health needs of entire families, including reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health, early childhood development, and adolescent health and positive youth development.
m2m also reaches some of the most marginalised and vulnerable populations, including orphans and other vulnerable children and adolescents, internally displaced people, and young children with disabilities.
While women living with HIV still comprise the majority of our frontline workforce, we now employ younger Peer Mentors to work with our adolescent clients, men to provide education and support to other men in their community, and nurses to support Africa’s critically under-resourced health systems by providing integrated care.
To improve access to healthcare, some frontline staff are trained to provide clinical services, like HIV testing. Mentor Mothers also offer education and support on health issues that disproportionately affect people living with HIV—including malaria, tuberculosis, and non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and cervical cancer—as well as strengthening clients’ financial literacy and creating opportunities for income-generating activities.
Extraordinary Women, Extraordinary Results
"What comes in my head when I walk around this community is that I am empowering my community. I am making a change. That is what drives me every day. I know that I’m serving my purpose.”
“I enjoy bringing clients—who defaulted on their HIV treatment and the health facility staff has given up on—back into care. Mentor Mothers leave no stone unturned.”
Extraordinary Women, Extraordinary Results
“My role in the healthcare system goes far beyond HIV. I also ensure that families have the most up-to-date health information and that they know where to go to access vital health services. My mission is to change at least one or two lives a day.”
“I recently helped two orphaned children, and their grandmother, so they could apply for their birth certificates to enroll in school and get financial assistance. This is what we stand for—upholding the most basic child rights.”
Women (Ages 15-49)
m2m demonstrates what is possible when empowered women drive change. m2m Mentor Mothers support and educate women and their families, ensuring they access health services, start any necessary treatment, and stay in care. Their work includes:
Essential health services, including sexual and reproductive health and family planning, prevention and management of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), HIV testing, and screening for malaria and tuberculosis.
Ensuring healthy pregnancies, safe deliveries, and quality postnatal care.
Treatment initiation, retention, and adherence for pregnant and postnatal women living with HIV to prevent mother-to-child transmission of the virus.
HIV testing, drug distribution, and education and adherence support.
Education and support for HIV-negative women to prevent new infections.
Education about COVID-19 and referrals for testing services.
Improving financial well-being and food security of women and families by strengthening financial literacy and creating opportunities for income-generating activities.
Children (ages 0-9)
m2m is committed to ensuring that every child thrives, not just survives, by integrating services to protect and improve the health and development of infants and children into our core Peer Mentor programme. This includes:
Early childhood development support and education for caregivers and families to create a nurturing care environment for our youngest clients.
Tailored support for children living with or exposed to HIV, and their families, including testing, treatment initiation, adherence, and retention support.
Advice and referrals to prevent and treat childhood illnesses, including nutrition education and immunisations.
Dedicated services for orphans and vulnerable children, as well as identification of young children with disabilities and advocacy for their care.
Promotion of education enrolment and retention, and support of households to become stronger economically.
Adolescents and Young Women (ages 10-24)
m2m works to promote healthy development, health, safety, and well-being among vulnerable and marginalised adolescents and young adults. m2m's eServices are vital in keeping our younger clients informed and connected, especially as COVID-19 disrupted their support networks at school and in the community. Services for this group are provided by Peer Mentors close in age and include:
Individual motivational counselling, group-based education, community engagement, and media activities to build knowledge among adolescents and young people, and address risky behaviour and underlying social and gender norms.
Proven peer-led, age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health education and services to prevent new sexually transmitted infections and avoid unplanned pregnancies.
Education and support for pregnant and postnatal adolescent girls and young women on safer sex, HIV testing, treatment access, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
Improving the health and well-being of orphans and vulnerable children and adolescents by supporting them to access healthcare services and stay on treatment, and strengthening the capacity of families and communities to care for these young people.
Women (Ages 15-49)
m2m demonstrates what is possible when empowered women drive change. m2m Mentor Mothers support and educate women and their families, ensuring they access health services, start any necessary treatment, and stay in care. Their work includes:
Essential health services, including sexual and reproductive health and family planning, prevention and management of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), HIV testing, and screening for malaria and tuberculosis.
Ensuring healthy pregnancies, safe deliveries, and quality postnatal care.
Treatment initiation, retention, and adherence for pregnant and postnatal women living with HIV to prevent mother-to-child transmission of the virus.
HIV testing, drug distribution, and education and adherence support.
Education and support for HIV-negative women to prevent new infections.
Education about COVID-19 and referrals for testing services.
Improving financial well-being and food security of women and families by strengthening financial literacy and creating opportunities for income-generating activities.
Children (ages 0-9)
m2m is committed to ensuring that every child thrives, not just survives, by integrating services to protect and improve the health and development of infants and children into our core Peer Mentor programme. This includes:
Early childhood development support and education for caregivers and families to create a nurturing care environment for our youngest clients.
Tailored support for children living with or exposed to HIV, and their families, including testing, treatment initiation, adherence, and retention support.
Advice and referrals to prevent and treat childhood illnesses, including nutrition education and immunisations.
Dedicated services for orphans and vulnerable children, as well as identification of young children with disabilities and advocacy for their care.
Promotion of education enrolment and retention, and support of households to become stronger economically.
Adolescents and Young Women (ages 10-24)
m2m works to promote healthy development, health, safety, and well-being among vulnerable and marginalised adolescents and young adults. m2m's eServices are vital in keeping our younger clients informed and connected, especially as COVID-19 disrupted their support networks at school and in the community. Services for this group are provided by Peer Mentors close in age and include:
Individual motivational counselling, group-based education, community engagement, and media activities to build knowledge among adolescents and young people, and address risky behaviour and underlying social and gender norms.
Proven peer-led, age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health education and services to prevent new sexually transmitted infections and avoid unplanned pregnancies.
Education and support for pregnant and postnatal adolescent girls and young women on safer sex, HIV testing, treatment access, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
Improving the health and well-being of orphans and vulnerable children and adolescents by supporting them to access healthcare services and stay on treatment, and strengthening the capacity of families and communities to care for these young people.
Extraordinary Women, Extraordinary Results
“My aim every day is to ensure that our adolescent clients are empowered and remain HIV-free and those living with HIV have access to treatment. We want our young people to have the right information to make informed choices.”
“Most parents or caregivers have no idea of the importance of early childhood development and how to help their children reach their development milestones. After I teach them the benefits of early stimulation, I see great changes. The children are stimulated, active, and most of their key milestones are met.”