Lesotho
Our work in Lesotho
Since 2007, mothers2mothers (m2m) has been serving women and their families in Lesotho—one of Africa’s smallest countries with the second highest HIV prevalence rate in the world recorded at 22.8% by UNAIDS. 57%6 of Lesotho’s population live below the poverty line, with women and families facing many challenges in accessing critical health services.
In Lesotho, m2m delivers prevention of mother-to-child transmission services in both health centres and communities in five districts of Lesotho with high burdens of HIV/ AIDS—Maseru, Mafeteng, Leribe, Mohale’s Hoek, and Berea.
Mentor Mothers conduct targeted household visits to provide m2m’s core health and support services, encouraging women and families to seek vital health
services, adhere to treatment, and stay in care through group education and one-on-one peer interactions. In this way, we are providing health systems strengthening spanning planning and delivery.
To ease the burden on an already stretched health infrastructure, m2m now employs clinical nurses who are working alongside Mentor Mothers to provide comprehensive antenatal and postnatal services to pregnant and breastfeeding mothers living with HIV in rural areas. The nurses offer a range of clinical services, including home-based screening for HIV and pregnancy, initiation on antiretroviral treatment and refills, dispensing family planning advice and supplies, and infant HIV testing.
Matsitso Mohoanyane, Paediatric HIV and AIDS Manager, Ministry of Health Lesotho
Our Impact in Lesotho
Virtual elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV among m2m’s enrolled clients, according to UNAIDS guidelines:
99%
of HIV-positive women enrolled at m2m were initiated on antiretroviral therapy (ART) for life.
90%
of HIV-exposed infants of enrolled m2m clients were given ART to protect them from infection.
99%
of these HIV-exposed infants were tested for HIV at 6-8 weeks.
6 – Our MTCT rate is comparable to the UNAIDS MTCT Indicator, as outlined in their guidelines available here: https://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/media_asset/2017-Global-AIDS-Monitoring_en.pdf. National benchmark is based on the latest available UNAIDS data, published here: https://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/media_asset/20190722_UNAIDS_SFSFAF_2019_en.pdf
Success Story
m2m Lesotho’s Program and M&E Assistant, Limpho Nteko, was just 21 years old when she found out that she was HIV-positive. Pregnant with her first child, this news changed her life forever.
Accepting my status was not easy. I felt ashamed visiting the clinic and it seemed like the entire country knew I was living with HIV. While my parents accepted my news and provided support, my husband— who was seven years older than me—refused to share my status with his family. I was forced to hide my medication and sadly my baby died when she was just three weeks old. I met mothers2mothers in 2013 during my second pregnancy. The Mentor Mothers made me believe in myself again. They helped me accept my condition and the lifelong commitment of taking medication regularly. My child was born HIV-free thanks to their support. m2m saved my life. Every morning I wake up motivated because I’m living a purposeful life, helping women living with HIV to make informed choices. I support and supervise 84 Mentor Mothers and 16 health facilities. I’m most proud of the fact that I am healthy and I am able to build a comfortable life for my children.
