About
mothers2mothers (m2m) is an Africa-based global nonprofit working toward ending AIDS, preventing more preventable diseases, and achieving health for all. Founded in 2001 by Dr. Mitch Besser, a medical doctor volunteering in Cape Town at the height of South Africa's HIV crisis — with Robin Smalley as co-founder — m2m began at a single site in Cape Town with a simple, powerful idea: employ women living with HIV as frontline health workers for their own communities. Its global headquarters is in Cape Town, South Africa, with additional offices in Los Angeles and London; the affiliated U.S. entity, mothers2mothers United States Inc, is based in Los Angeles.
Mission
Born at the height of the AIDS emergency to eliminate paediatric HIV, m2m has evolved into a broader primary healthcare organization built on women using shared experiences to create health and hope for other women and families.
What they do
m2m's approach centers on its Mentor Mother Model, which is peer-based and local — integrated services are delivered by people from the same community as those they serve:
- Mentor Mothers are local women living with HIV, employed and paid as professionalised community health workers who work alongside doctors and nurses in health facilities
- Community Mentor Mothers go door-to-door in facility catchment areas to deliver services and follow up with clients
- Services span HIV prevention and treatment, reproductive and maternal health, tuberculosis education and referral, screening for non-communicable diseases, malaria prevention, and household economic strengthening
- Paying women living with HIV as Peer Mentors also has a direct economic impact on their communities
History
From one site in Cape Town in 2001, m2m expanded across South Africa in the early 2000s, added a door-to-door community component in 2014, and now operates at hundreds of health centers across sub-Saharan Africa.
Scale and impact
m2m employs more than 1,300 people, operating at almost 550 locations with nine offices across seven sub-Saharan African countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia. Since its founding, the organization reports it has reached more than 17 million pregnant women, new mothers, and children, and created jobs for over 12,000 African women living with HIV. Among results m2m reports for 2023: only 0.23 percent of clients who enrolled HIV-negative contracted HIV (about 15 times lower than global benchmarks), 100 percent of clients referred for tuberculosis testing received a test, and 93 percent of clients used modern family planning methods versus 56 percent regionally.
Financials
According to filings summarized by ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, mothers2mothers United States Inc (EIN 30-0545760), the organization's U.S. fundraising affiliate, reported total revenue of about 6.8 million dollars and total expenses of about 5.4 million dollars for fiscal year 2023, with year-end assets of about 31.9 million dollars.
Governance
m2m is led by a President and Chief Executive Officer based in South Africa, with senior management shared across three affiliated nonprofit organizations.