ExxonMobil Announces support of mothers2mothers Mozambique

• Program benefits more than 1200 HIV-exposed women and children in Matola, Maputo, integrates HIV/AIDS and Covid-19 awareness through mobile digital platforms
• Development made possible by US$40,000 grant from ExxonMobil

A grant of US$40,000 from EMML will be invested at the Matola II Health Centre in Maputo to employ 20 “Mentor Mothers”—women living with HIV who serve as Community Health Workers. These Mentor Mothers will use their skills and first-hand experience to increase the number of women accessing Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) services, while also scaling up initiatives around early infant diagnosis. In addition, the funding will support an increase in the use of mobile and digital technology to further widen awareness activities, essential in today’s COVID-19 reality.

Ilda Kuleba, Country Director of mothers2mothers, said “Our work to ensure everyone knows their HIV-status and is accessing the medication they need is even more essential at this time. People living with HIV may be more likely to develop complications should they contract the COVID-19, and there are real concerns that disruptions to HIV services as a result of the coronavirus could turn the clock back by more than a decade in the fight against HIV. We are grateful to ExxonMobil for their support, and glad we will be able to make strategic investments in our digital offerings to serve our clients in different ways”. The ExxonMobil funding comes at a critical time as m2m looks for new partners to maintain and enhance prevention and awareness activities at this strategic site.

“ExxonMobil is committed to supporting the local communities where we operate around the world” said Jos Evens, General Manager of ExxonMobil Moçambique, Limitada. “mothers2mothers is to be commended for introducing critical services augmented by digital tools designed to ensure the targeted communities are reached in these unprecedented times.”

Since 2017 ExxonMobil has invested over $6 million across Mozambique in community programs that focus on public health, general education, women and family empowerment, agricultural development and environmental conservation.

About m2m

mothers2mothers (m2m) is an African NGO that unlocks the potential of women to create healthy families and eliminate paediatric AIDS. m2m trains, employs, and helps empower local women living with HIV as Mentor Mentors—community healthcare workers who provide services in understaffed health clinics and communities. Mentor Mothers educate and support women and their families to overcome barriers to medical care, and ensure they receive the medication and health services they need and stay in treatment. From an initial focus on preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV, today m2m Mentor Mothers provide family- centred support from pregnancy and childhood to adolescence. Through an integrated Early Childhood Development programme, m2m looks beyond survival to give children the opportunity to thrive, and then provides them with necessary knowledge and skills in adolescence to protect the next generation from HIV infection.
Since m2m started in 2001, it has reached over 11M women and children under two, and created more than 11,000 jobs for women living with HIV. Today, m2m operates across ten sub-Saharan African countries. For more: m2m.org

About ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil, one of the largest publicly traded international oil and gas companies in the world, uses technology and innovation to help meet the world’s growing energy needs. In Mozambique, ExxonMobil holds a 25 percent indirect interest in Area 4 and will lead the construction and operation of future natural gas liquefaction facilities. In addition, ExxonMobil was awarded the joint rights to negotiate the Angoche basin (A5-B) and the Zambezi Delta (Z5-C and Z5-D) concessions, as part of Mozambique’s fifth licensing round. For more information, visit us at www.exxonmobil.co.mz or like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ExxonMobilMocambique