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Mentor Mother Model Highlighted in IATT Report

IATTCoverm2m’s South Africa Programme received an important endorsement from the East and Southern Africa regional interagency task team (IATT) on the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV. A report from the 2014 Regional Stocktaking Meeting, which took place in April, highlights the Mentor Mother model and it’s significance in promoting retention in care for mothers and babies, and mentions the South African government efforts to integrate Mentor Mothers into the health system (SAMMP project). Here’s an excerpt from the report:

“The use of Mentor Mothers to provide peer support, as developed by the mothers2mothers project is considered a best practice in improving PMTCT [prevention of mother-to-child transmission] retention. Whether the use of Mentor Mothers and other lay people is a sustainable approach to providing care and support is a question often asked. South Africa has made efforts to include Mentor Mothers as staff of the Department of Health in order to ensure sustainability. In addition, South Africa has identified select community caregivers who are already Department of Health employees to fulfill the role of Mentor Mothers. With government support and creativity, sustainability may be achieved in order to ensure long-term public health gains.” (p. 15-16)

To see the full report, click here.

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