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m2m South Africa Receives a National Nod

The South African National Department of Health has signed a formal funding agreement with m2m, making our South Africa programme a national partner.

The agreement is recognition of the contributions m2m has made reducing mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV and strengthening community-based support for prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) services in South Africa. Under the agreement, the government will fund eight Community Mentor Mother sites in Gauteng and Mpumalanga Provinces through which m2m provides critical community engagement, reaching women and families in their homes, providing household-level support, and linking them to nearby health centres for treatment and services.

Community Mentor Mother visits a family

“We are honoured and excited to be recognised on a national level in South Africa. Since m2m was founded at one site in Cape Town in 2001, we have successfully partnered with South Africa’s provincial governments to provide non-clinical support services in health centres and communities around the country. Through this national partnership, we hope to contribute further to the country’s National Strategic Plan for HIV/AIDS, STIs and TB; and to create healthy futures for even more mothers and their families,” says Shungu Gwarinda, m2m’s County Director in South Africa.

South Africa was the birthplace of m2m’s Mentor Mother Model 15 years ago. Today, m2m operates in 65 health centres in 7 South African provinces. Mentor Mothers are also located at 385 sites operated by provincial governments through the South African Mentor Mother Programme (SAMMP). SAMMP was established in 2012 under a cooperative agreement with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and guided by Memorandum of Understanding with the South African Provincial Departments of Health. m2m provided technical assistance for the development and integration of SAMMP, and continues to assist government-funded sites with Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement of SAMMP sites.

m2m South Africa is implementing a number of important initiatives that are shaping the organisation’s future, and are informed by the country’s national priorities. Through our facility-to-community, family-centred approach, m2m facilitates integrated quality services, reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH), prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT), early childhood household stimulation (ECHS), and adolescent health, in addition to providing care and treatment support for HIV-positive pregnant women and their families.

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