Zambia

Date Started:

2016

Geolocations

New Clients Enrolled (2023):

13,967

Mentor Mothers (2023):

Country Lead:

Elijah Mvula

Data sourced from m2m 2023 Annual Programme Review

Geolocations refers to both health facility and community locations

Our work in Zambia

mothers2mothers (m2m) has been active in Zambia since 2008, leading and partnering on numerous large-scale HIV-focused projects across most provinces, while providing technical assistance to the government and other partners. Zambia has served as a hub of innovation for m2m, particularly in integrating dried bloodspot (DBS) testing for HIV into the Mentor Mothers programme, which has lightened the load on nurses and clinicians and improved access to timely testing and results.

In 2024, m2m Zambia joined the USAID Zambia Integrated Health (USAID ZIH) project in partnership with Pact. This initiative aims to reduce mortality, morbidity, and HIV transmission among children, adolescents, and women in the Northwest, Copperbelt, and Central provinces. A new cohort of Mentor Mothers has been trained and deployed across 90 facilities and communities to provide integrated services, including reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health (RMNCAH), HIV, and early childhood development (ECD). This project aligns with our 2022-2026 strategic plan and follows the successful completion of the USAID-PEPFAR Supporting an AIDS-Free Era (SAFE) programme, which focused on increasing HIV testing, treatment, and viral load suppression rates to 95%, as well as improving nutrition and family planning services.

Building on m2m’s long-standing work with adolescents in Zambia, in 2019, we established a model site at Chipata Level One Hospital in Lusaka to provide tailored services for adolescent clients. Adolescent Peer Mentors were recruited and trained to deliver HIV support services to adolescent girls and young women (AGYW), as well as adolescent boys and young men (ABYM), in schools, health facilities, and communities. With funding from ViiV Healthcare Positive Action, this programme has since expanded to seven additional health facilities in the area.

While we work to embed the USAID ZIH project, m2m will continue to explore opportunities that will allow us to expand our services, strengthen local capacities through direct service delivery, digital health, and technical assistance, ensuring holistic care and sustainable health systems.

Our Impact in Zambia

Success Story

Cynthia— Mentor Mother, Ngombe Clinic

Cynthia Musonda’s journey with HIV began in 2016 when she was diagnosed during pregnancy. At the time, she believed that HIV was fatal, which led her into a deep depression. Despite the encouragement from an HIV counsellor and her supportive mother, Cynthia struggled to start her treatment, feeling misunderstood and isolated.

During her pregnancy, Cynthia decided to begin treatment to protect her unborn baby, but faced pressure from her partner to rather pray for a cure instead. She stopped her medication, during which time her health deteriorated significantly.

Cynthia’s situation changed when she saw a mothers2mothers’ Mentor Mother post being advertised at the clinic. Encouraged by a nurse to apply, Cynthia realised she needed to prioritise her health and her daughter’s future over her partner’s beliefs. She chose to resume treatment and applied for the position. As a Mentor Mother, Cynthia gained a deeper understanding of HIV and became a role model for others in similar situations and through her work, she has significantly contributed to increasing awareness about HIV testing and treatment among women and children in her community.