Mothers2mothers Explained

mothers2mothers
Type:Operating public charity
(IRS exemption status): 501(c)(3)
Founded Date:2001
Founder:Mitch Besser (Founder/ Medical Director), Gene Falk (Co-Founder, Former CEO), Robin Allinson Smalley (Co-Founder/ International Director), Frank Beadle de Palomo (Current CEO)
Location:Cape Town, South Africa
Focus:Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV
Revenue:$15.6 million (2009)[1]
Homepage: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 organisation currently works in over 400 sites in seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa and employs over 1000 women living with HIV.[2]

History

mothers2mothers was founded by 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 realised 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." 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.

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

Results

The mothers2mothers program currently operates in over 400 sites in the following countries:

mothers2mothers employs over 1000 women living with HIV.Since 2001, mothers2mothers has enrolled over 1,000,000 HIV-positive pregnant women and new-mothers and logged nearly three million unique client interactions.

At least one source claims that in 2010, mothers2mothers enrolled approximately 300,000 unique HIV-positive pregnant women and new mothers into its program. However, a recent investigation by GiveWell has led that organisation to question the way mothers2mothers counts its clients.[6]

Awards and recognition

Funding

Foundation funding

mothers2mothers has received funding from the Skoll Foundation,[12] Mulago Foundation,[13] Jasmine Social Investments,[14] and other foundations.

References

  1. mothers2mothers 2009 Annual Report
  2. Web site: m2m.org/ Where We Work. mothers2mothers. 24 May 2011.
  3. News: Caelers. Di. Recognising a mother's love. 20 May 2011. Weekend Argus. 26 June 2010.
  4. Web site: Dr. Mitch Besser. m2m.org About Us/ Our Team. m2m.org. 20 May 2011.
  5. Loewenberg. Samuel. Profile: Mitch Besser--helping motherswith HIV become mentors. The Lancet. 2 April 2011. 377. 9772. 1145. 10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60452-2. 21459200. 35831424 . 16 May 2011. free.
  6. Web site: More errors in widely-cited figures: the case of mothers2mothers . Holden . Karnofsky . 7 March 2012 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20120312203713/http://blog.givewell.org/2012/03/07/more-errors-in-widely-cited-figures-the-case-of-mothers2mothers/ . 12 March 2012 . live . 7 March 2012 . Its published figures suggest that it serves a huge number of women - specifically, that it accounts for around 20% of all women on PMTCT in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet when we performed a simple check on its figures, we saw major anomalies. ... After corresponding with mothers2mothers, we believe that the anomalies we’ve seen are chiefly explained by flaws in mothers2mothers’s data..
  7. Web site: 2005_2006 Annual Report. mothers2mothers. 23 May 2011.
  8. Web site: Social Innovations South Africa- Impumelelo Innovation Awards. Impumelelo. 23 May 2011.
  9. News: 5 July 2007 . mothers2mothers Case Study . Financial Times . 23 May 2011.
  10. Web site: The President Participates in a Ceremony for 2008 Recipients of the Presidential Citizens Medal. The White House. 16 May 2011.
  11. Web site: World Economic Forum Events 2009. Schwab Foundation. 23 May 2011. 1 February 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130201121833/http://www.schwabfound.org/sf/Events/WorldEconomicForumEvents/2009/index.htm. dead.
  12. Web site: Skoll Foundation Advances Global Goal to Eliminate Pediatric AIDS with $2.5 Million Award to mothers2mothers. 2012-07-19. Farhat Kassab. Sally. Skoll Foundation. 2012-08-14.
  13. Web site: mothers2mothers (portfolio page). Mulago Foundation. 2012-08-14.
  14. Web site: Who We Fund (click mothers2mothers for more details). Jasmine Social Investments. 2012-08-14.