File:Community Mother Support Group in Wolayta (9572538821).jpg

Mother support groups, such as the one pictured here in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region, are educational and psycho-social support groups for HIV+ pregnant and lactating women. Two HIV positive “Mentor Mothers” lead the groups and are responsible for making sure all the members stay with the program for 52 weeks, or long enough for them to give birth and for their newborn children to have confirmatory HIV testing. The program addresses the psychological and social needs of the mothers, while teaching them what they need to know about living with HIV and preventing transmission to their children, as well as keeping track of them for adherence and to ensure delivery in the health center. As group members, they receive lessons on different topics related to their phase of pregnancy or lactation. They learn about adherence to ARTs, dual protection with their partners, nutrition, exclusive breast-feeding followed by mixed feeding and so on. The program, based on the Mother2Mother model developed in South Africa, has been wildly successful. The women look up to their Mentor Mothers as examples of how to live successfully with HIV. Almost 95% of mothers deliver HIV negative babies and even after graduating from the program, they become involved in other community associations to create awareness about HIV. These mother support groups are one part of the Community Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission project run by IntraHealth International with support from USAID Ethiopia and PEPFAR.