Duration: October 2019 – September 2022
Total Funding: $768,000 

OVERVIEW

The RISE II activity, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is a regional award that contributes to global goals of ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic by 2030, and improves community health and well-being across Southern and Eastern Africa.

Through RISE II, USAID missions partner directly with mothers2mothers (m2m) to mitigate the effects of HIV and address a range of related health issues. m2m is an Africa-based non-governmental organization whose success and impact are rooted in the Mentor Mother model of peer mentorship, education, role modelling and high-impact interventions.

In Angola, m2m supports the First Lady’s “Born Free to Shine initiative” towards virtual elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. As part of the technical assistance strategy, m2m works in close partnership the Angola Ministry of Health and Instituto Nacional de Luta Contra o SIDA (INLS) to adapt and lead implementation of a national mentor-mother model, focused on provision of comprehensive community and family centered index case testing and tracing, adherence and retention services.

ACTIVITIES

• Routine education on HIV/TB services, Malaria and Non-Communicable Diseases
• Actively providing one-on-one sessions on PMTCT among pregnant and breastfeeding women
• Screening and active linkage of index clients for intimate partner violence
• Eliciting index contacts and linking consenting clients to mentor-mothers for community-based testing using an electronic DHIS2 tracker
• Linking HIV positive individuals for treatment initiation at health facilities
• Supporting treatment adherence, retention and early infant diagnosis for HIV exposed infants

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

To date, m2m has:

• Received support and involvement of local authorities, leading to the rapid integration of Mentor Mothers at the facilities and in the communities
• Recruited staff to establish a country presence and conducted initial training for mentor mothers in Lunda Sul within two months
• Employed 13 Mentor Mothers who are working in two provinces—Benguela and Lunda Sul
• Counseled and tested 353 index contacts for HIV