MENTOR MOTHERS

The bond between the mother and baby is evident as she fondly holds and suckles on to her mother’s breast.

The baby gets destructed as the mother gets close to the voice recorder.

‘I knew my HIV status in 2012 when I carrying this baby. I was shocked. My husband passed the virus to me. When I left formy rural home rumour had it that he was having an affair with a sugar mummy, says Dorina Aswani mother of 3.

According to the National AIDS indicator Survey 2012, she represents one of the 1.6 million people living with HIV and AIDS in Kenya. 

According to UNAIDS 57.5% of this population constitutes of women.

‘I have been living with HIV and AIDS for 12 years. I had syphilis and gonorrhea and the doctors decided to take blood samples and undergo a HIV test. I wanted to abort the baby because I knew the baby and I had no future,’ narrates Esther.

These two ladies have been able to have children who are HIV- even when these mothers were HIV+, something unheard of years ago.

‘Nearly 80% of HIV+ pregnant women have been provided with services to prevent them from passing the virus to their babies,’ says Cabinet secretary for health James Macharia.

800 children become HIV+ daily.

90% of these cases are from Africa.

The transmission occurs during pregnancy, child birth or during breastfeeding.

The mentor mother project from an NGO Mothers to Mothers has strived to reduce these cases.

Communication officer Rehema Kahurananga says that HIV+ pregnant women do not get adequate attention from health workers due to the volumes of people streaming in these institutions.

‘We give them counseling so that they may be able to live positively. We counsel them when they are alone when they are with their husbands. A mentor mother is a HIV+ woman helps a pregnant HIV+ woman carry their baby to term, says Julie Obiero who is a mentor.

Ms. Aswani says that the mentor mother sessions gave her hope and she was happy to realize that there are many women who are living well even after realizing they have been infected.

Mentor Mother program aims at improving maternal and child health by 2012 it has reached 1.2 million pregnant HIV+ women in Africa.

In South Africa these figures have reached 800,000, Lesotho 60,000, Malawi 74,000, Rwanda 18,000, Zambia 47,000, Swaziland 100,000, Tanzania 4,000, Uganda 8,000 and Kenya 92,000.

Government statistics say that more than 3 million mother-baby  transmissions have been averted around the globe.  

‘Between 2010-2012, 15% of HIV prevalence amongst children under 5  had been reduced.  ‘, says the Ministry of Health report.

According to the National AIDS indicator survey 2010 says that 87,000 HIV+ mothers needed Prevention from Mother To Child Transmissions in Kenya.

‘HIV+ mothers have to breastfeed the 1^st 6 months exclusively  to boost their immunity,’ says Ruth Masha from UNAIDS.

Aswani concludes that her husband knows that her status but her spouse refused to be tested. She expresses her fear that she almost thought that she would infect her baby because she never used to consistently take her ARV drugs. She says that she did not want her husband to realize she was on ARVs because she was scared she would be divorced if the husband realized she realized she was HIV+.