MOTHERS AND BABIES
“With the correct treatment, care and support it is possible
to almost guarantee children will be born HIV-free.”
No child should be born with HIV. Without intervention, one in three babies born to mothers living with HIV, will contract the virus either in the womb, at birth or while being breastfed. But, with the correct treatment, care and support it is possible for children to be born HIV-free.
One to One Children’s Fund is eliminating mother-to-child HIV transmission. Women are accessing life-saving antiretroviral treatment, healthcare, information and support throughout pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding to ensure their babies are born HIV-free.
PROGRAMME
Meet Our Mentor Mothers
Our Mentor Mothers are at the heart of our peer-to-peer community engagement. Here you can meet some of them, and get a deeper picture of their work.
ZUKISWA NGETU
Zukiswa joined us in 2019. She is 30 years old and she’s married and has two children who are 7 and 5 years old. Previously, Zukiswa worked for Small Projects Foundation for two years and was based at Pilani Clinic. Zukiswa loves serving and improving the lives of the community.
NOSIPHO MBAVA
Nosipho is a 35-year-old single mother of two girls aged 6 and 13 years. She joined One to One Africa in July 2016 when the programme started in Nyandeni. She is one of the first trained cohorts on the Enable Model.
NOKWANDISA SITHONGA
Nokwandisa is a single mother of two children. Prior to joining One to One Africa in August 2019, she worked on different community projects which included preschools, roadworks and volunteering in the local clinic.
NOSIZWE PETER
Nosizwe “Mama” Peter is 53 years old. She is a widow with four children aged 15, 25, 28 and 35 years old. She joined One to One Africa in July 2016. She previously ran a shebeen and also worked for community projects in her area.
MAM’D DALINGXOLO
Nokhanyile “Mam’D” started working for Enable in July 2016. She is a 50-year-old widow with four children, who are 28, 26 (twins) and 18 years old. She previously worked in her community doing various programmes.
NOMSA MARUTHA
A qualified staff nurse with over two decades of experience, Nomsa joined One to One Africa in 2016 as a Nurse Supervisor; in 2019, she was promoted to manage the Community Health Workers’ arm of the Enable programme.
ENABLE
a model for transforming healthcare
in South Africa and beyond
The Enable solution is simple: integrated, door-to-door, health interventions by trained Mentor Mothers, providing access and referrals to clinics and hospitals.
The Enable project targets the most vulnerable – expectant mothers and children up to the age of five – through door-to-door visits. One to One Children’s Fund empowers local women, many of them HIV positive, equipping them with skills and knowledge to carry out basic health checks.
They arrange regular visits to monitor their health, provide support and advice and, if further medical care or drugs are required, refer them on to a clinic. Where needed, they can help with transport.
To date, our Mentor Mothers have accumulated a caseload of 1,452 clients of which 669 are children, and a further 36,905 members of the community receive health and awareness-raising sessions, addressing issues such as family planning, HIV and treatment adherence, and child and maternal health.
In addition, 3,340 children have been weighed and are monitored until the age of 6. The stand-out achievement of the project so far has been an almost 0%
MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS TO DATE
36,905
members of the community benefited from health and awareness-raising sessions, of which 18,453 are children
1,452
mothers-to-be, babies and children directly cared for by Mentor Mothers
0%
transmission rate of HIV from mother to child
615
people trained, educated and counselled
ENABLE PHASE II
We launched Enable Phase II in April 2019 and the key developments are:
Overcoming barriers to clinic access
Home-based interventions are crucial in improving health outcomes for expectant mothers and children under 5, however, clients also need to be referred to quality clinical services in order for the project to maximise its impact. Enable overcomes barriers to accessing clinics by early diagnoses and referral and providing transport or transport fees to access the nearest clinic or hospital. Our Mentor Mothers and Community Health Workers accompany clients to appointments to ensure they are seen, and a Mentor Mother is based at the hospital to provide additional support.
Training Government Community Health Workers
Unfortunately, the national policy of government-employed Community Health Workers conducting outreach services from health clinics is not being translated into reality. So far, we have trained 27 Community Health Workers in the Mentor Mother methodology with four-weeks of classroom training and two weeks of observed field training, and they will receive continued supervision, support and training so they can realise their professional potential and save lives.
Extending outreach services
By resourcing and training Community Health Workers to provide comprehensive community-based services we can demonstrate the positive impact this has on health outcomes, particularly in remote, rural areas. The project will build an existing evidence base with which to lobby the Department of Health; invest in more supervision, training and equipping of Community Health Workers, and adopt the One to One model.
“The Mentor Mother first came to me when I was five months pregnant. I only started taking my medication after she encouraged me to. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her. I think I would be dead by now.”
“In 2003, I tested positive for HIV. I was discriminated by my community, even by my family. Being a Mentor Mother makes me feel like a helper. I advise people by making them realise that this (HIV) is not the end of the world for them. They can still get up and go on to achieve their dreams and not just sit around waiting for the day they will pass away.”
CASE STUDY: MENTOR MOTHERS ZANELE AND VUYOKAZI
By Miranda Prynne
We joined Mentor Mothers Zanele and Vuyokazi on a visit. The mother is nine months pregnant, due any day, and is complaining of swelling in her legs and pain in her hips. She is 35 years old but looks a lot older. She is weighed, her blood pressure checked, and she talks to Zanele and Vuyokazi as they update her files. She has their mobile numbers to ring if she needs any help. They advise her to ring the clinic if the pain in her hip gets worse and she must arrange to go to the clinic the moment she goes into labour. They hand her a sealed package containing antiseptic and wipes to clean the umbilical cord, just in case.
The advice from the Mentor Mothers is simple enough – breastfeed your babies, feed your children a varied diet with fruit and vegetables when possible, ensure your children are immunised, if you carry HIV, do not stop taking your antiretrovirals, ever.
The simplicity of the Enable model is its secret. This is no glamorous vanity project. It is a practical, low-cost solution to a problem.
NEW INITIATIVES STARTED BY MENTOR MOTHERS
Our Mentor Mothers are always looking for ways they can help mothers and children in Mankosi live their healthiest lives. Here are some new activities they have started in the past six months.
REACHING YOUNG PEOPLE
Mentor Mothers have identified three schools where they can run teen health and HIV-prevention classes for 11-17 year olds
HIV SUPPORT GROUPS
Mentor Mothers have formed two support groups for mothers affected by HIV where they can help them address psychosocial issues and take control of their own and their children’s health.
CLOSER TIES WITH LOCAL HOSPITALS
Mentor Mothers will alternate two days a week in the local hospital to better coordinate patient care, and offer breastfeeding classes to women who have recently delivered in the hospital.
THE FUTURE
We feel we are in a strong position to take this proven community health model to scale in neighbouring areas of the Eastern Cape, bringing in Community Health Workers as well as Mentor Mothers. We are also expanding our intervention to include sexual reproductive health and mental health, and using mobile technology to improve effectiveness. If we secure funding, we aim to reach 2,400 families directly and bring improved access to healthcare for thousands more.
HELP SUPPORT THIS VERY IMPORTANT PROGRAMME!
EMPOWER last-mile communities to sustainably
provide for themselves
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Thabisa Bobo
Thandie Matikinca
Rudzani Muloiwa
Ondela Manjezi-Sokomani
Rhodwell Shamu
Mentor Mothers
