Ghana

Date Started:

2019

Locations (2022):

New Clients Enrolled (2021):

10,031

New Clients Reached Through eServices (2021):

3,625

Mentor Mothers (2021)

Project Director:

Yvonne Prempeh-Ferguson

Our work in Ghana

mothers2mothers (m2m) established its Ghana operations in October 2019 with support from British Airways and Comic Relief’s Flying Start partnership. Working in Greater Accra and Eastern Regions in communities with high HIV prevalence, Mentor Mothers are supporting pregnant and breastfeeding women—living with, or at risk of HIV, to ensure that they receive life-saving education and support to help their families access health care, start and adhere to treatment, and stay in care.

Working from the Ashaiman Polyclinic, Atua Government Hospital, and Gaa West Hospital, frontline teams provide integrated reproductive maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health (RMNCAH) and early childhood development (ECD) services, promoting responsive parenting and nurturing care to caregivers of HIV-exposed and other vulnerable children. In group sessions, parents are educated about the importance of play, nutrition, and accessing essential health services, including linkages for the prevention and treatment of HIV, care and referrals for family planning, cervical cancer screening, and child immunisation.

m2m is a proud partner of the Government of Ghana (the Ghana Health Service and National AIDS Control Programme under the Ministry or Health, and the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection). We also work closely with other local stakeholders and health care workers at health facilities to deepen their knowledge of ECD and embed support for holistic nurturing care in the public health system.

With support of new donor funding, m2m Ghana has been able to scale up its support to adolescent clients, ages 15-24. Adolescent Mentor Mothers have been recruited, trained, and deployed to sites and are offering customised services to adolescent girls and young women, through the whole cascade of HIV care. In addition, funding from ViiV Healthcare Positive Action, Gucci, and Vitol Foundation will allow m2m to continue its integrated RMNCAH/ECD work, and expand services to new locations.

Our Impact in Ghana

Success Story

Faustina Ocansey— Mentor Mother Team Lead Ashaiman Community, Ghana

Faustina’s story is one of strength and determination overcoming adversity. She found out she was living with HIV after both her husband and her six-month-old baby tested positive for both tuberculosis and HIV. At the time, HIV treatment was not readily available in Ghana, and both passed away as they could not access the treatment they desperately needed. Left to care for her five surviving children on her own, Faustina faced many challenges—including stigma and discrimination in her community. Determined to help others in a similar position, Faustina spent close to a decade volunteering at a community hospital, where she helped people who were newly diagnosed with HIV to accept their status and find hope for their future. When mothers2mothers opened in Ghana in 2019, Faustina was employed as a Team Lead and Mentor Mother—finally earning a salary and recognition for the work she had been doing for years. In her role, she provides vital health education and services to pregnant and breastfeeding women and adolescents. With her team, she also provides integrated early childhood development services designed to support the critical period of a child’s development. As a paid community health worker, Faustina says she can better support her own family, while being a beacon of hope and healthy living in her community.