Mothers2Mothers

• Photographer
  Richard Ansett

Whilst tremendous progress has been made over the last decade to eliminate paediatric AIDS, more than 200 babies are still infected with HIV each day in sub-Saharan Africa. Most of them acquire HIV from their mothers during pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding. The charity Mothers2Mothers train, employ, and empower local mothers living with HIV, called Mentor Mothers, as frontline healthcare workers in understaffed health centres and within communities. Mentor Mothers provide essential health education and support to women on how they can protect their babies from HIV infection, and keep themselves and their families healthy. Mentor Mothers’ intimate understanding of the social and cultural challenges of living with HIV gives them a unique ability to form trusted relationships with other women, vital to helping them overcome their fears and make lifesaving decisions. These portraits shot at a Malawi health centre collaborate with women to explore the intimate bond between them in supporting each other.