Mozambique

Date Started:

2017*

Locations (incl. clinics and nearby communities):

New Clients Enrolled (2021):

110,584**

New Clients Reached through eServices (2021):

614

Mentor Mothers (2021):

466

Country Director:

Dr. Ali Ouenzar

Our work in Mozambique

mothers2mothers (m2m) began working in Mozambique in 2017, when the U.S. Government—through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)—engaged us to provide technical assistance to strengthen implementation of a revised national strategy called “Mães para Mães” (MpM – meaning “mothers for mothers”), and to support Mozambique’s Ministry of Health (Ministério da Saúde or MISAU) in its national roll out.

In January 2018, we recruited our first cohort of Mentor Mothers who were trained and deployed to 31 high-volume health facilities across five provinces—Cabo Delgado, Maputo, Nampula, Sofala, and Zambézia—to deliver prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) and paediatric HIV care and support services to women and their families. The focus has been on improving adherence and retention in care for pregnant and breastfeeding women and increasing early infant diagnosis testing coverage rates for HIV-exposed infants, particularly in the first weeks and months of life.

In 2020, m2m signed a Programme Cooperation Agreement with UNICEF to implement a project in emergency areas and camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Cabo Delgado and Nampula, to improve uptake and retention in care for reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health, PMTCT, and HIV prevention, care and treatment. This will also enable m2m to intensify engagement with pregnant and breastfeeding adolescent girls and young women, including those living with disabilities.

Working closely with the MoH, m2m is supporting the training of Mentor Mothers and other health providers to pilot client management tools at a provincial level. The cohort includes Adolescent and Young Mentors, Male Champions, and Mentor Mothers in Cabo Delgado, Maputo, Nampula, and Zambezia provinces.

m2m seeks to build on these successes and expand its operations beyond reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health (RMNCAH), PMTCT, and HIV prevention and care, setting up mobile clinics to complement our existing services and meet gaps in the universal health coverage and other needs of IDPs in Mozambique.

Our Reach in Mozambique

Success Story

Nasérgia Artur, 31, is a single mother who lives with her five children in Chiure village, in Cabo Delgado Province. As a Mentor Mother, she assists mothers access health services at the Chiure District Hosptial, and provides them with education and psychosocial support to live healthy, thriving lives.

“My passion for helping others stems from my own experiences. In 2009, I tested positive for HIV when I was pregnant with my first child. I felt sad and went home to speak to my mother, who encouraged me to go back to the clinic and start treatment immediately. I am grateful because I stayed on treatment and all my babies were born HIV-free.

I started volunteering at the Chiure District Hospital in 2017, and completed training hosted by m2m in 2019. I was employed by the Ariel Foundation as a Mentor Mother and joined m2m in 2020, who took over the project.

I feel extremely happy when I can help other women accept their HIV status and support them to stay on antiretroviral treatment so they can take care of themselves and to give birth to HIV-free babies. My story inspires them to change their behaviours and live positively.”