Hopolang Mokhopi
A local non-profit organisation, Mothers2Mothers (M2M), has successfully implemented its project aimed at the virtual elimination of the mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
The organization has served over 10 622 clients through its digital and e-services platforms to deliver life-enhancing services to women and their families.
This milestone was revealed on Tuesday during its M2M RISE II project event held at Victory Hall in Maseru.
RISE is a USAID and PEPFAR-funded project started in 2013 aimed at bringing health facilities and services closer to various remote communities.
According to M2M Country Director, Mpolokeng Mohloai, they started implementing the RISE project (RISE I) in 21 health facilities countrywide in 2013 and increased the coverage to 56 facilities in 2017.
Ms Mohloai also said in September 2014, M2M extended the scope of its services to benefit more communities in different parts of the country.
“By the end of RISE I (December2017), there was a successful transformation of M2M’s programmatic platform encompassing a family-centered, life-cycle approach which was evident in the scale of service delivery in Lesotho,” Ms Mohloai said.
She further said in December 2017, M2M started to implement its five-year RISE II project. M2M also received an additional one-year extension to implement the project from September 2022 to September 2023, with the same comprehensive approach.
In addition, M2M changed the lives of Basotho women where they recruited and hired over 200 women during the RISE II project.
“M2M left a mark on the elimination of the mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV as we contributed positively towards the amazing MTCT rate results,” she said.
In addition, M2M Chief Operations Officer, Chad Rathner, said the presence of so many people at Tuesday’s event was testament to the enduring strength of the collective commitment to positive change and the remarkable journey they had undertaken together.
He also said for the past 18 years, the US government stood beside M2M, offering critical funding since 2005.
“Your support has allowed us to provide vital health services, fostering empowerment among the women, children, adolescents, and families we serve.
“This funding has not only helped prevent the mother-to-child transmission of HIV, but has also enabled us to broaden our services to strengthen health systems and achieve global HIV/AIDS targets,” Mr Rathner said.
He also said since their inception in 2001, M2M had created nearly 12 000 jobs for women living with HIV, further reaching over 15 million individuals across sub-Sarahan Africa through their Peer-led Mentor Model.
“In 2022, we achieved a remarkable 0.5 percent mother-to-child transmission rate among enrolled clients. We have impacted the lives of nearly 1 226 970 individuals in Lesotho, providing vital reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health service,” he said.
He also promised M2M stakeholders that RISE II beneficiaries would continue to receive all the required health services.
M2M, he added, had also just embarked on an ambitious new strategy, which would see it evolving into an integrated primary healthcare organization.
“We believe that we will continue to get support from all of you to achieve this ambitious goal for the benefit of Basotho,” Mr Rathner said.
Lebohang Mothae of the National Aids Commission (NAC), , commended M2M for contributing immensely to capacitating Basotho women .
Speaking on behalf of PEPFAR and USAID, Thembeka Sonkwele, said the event was to celebrate the success of the 16-year journey of implementation of the MTCT project by M2M in Lesotho.
“We were facing the scare of HIV-related gaps; if you were not infected, you were affected at some point. Even though the RISE II project has come to an end, we will continue to support M2M to help prevent the mother-to-child transmission of HIV,” Sonkwele said.
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