Male partner involvement during pregnancy can reduce mother-to-child transmission of HIV up to 40%, however, most fathers-to-be have never seen the inside of an antenatal clinic. Perceiving a great opportunity, mothers2mothers partnered with CSI+ to develop and pilot a curriculum designed to increase male partner involvement in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Males currently attend less than 5% of health appointments for their pregnant partners in Lesotho and Kenya where the pilot is taking place.
The new program aims to increase male participation by providing couples-to-couples mentoring services and targeting specific concerns that keep men away from health clinics.
In particular, men believe health clinics are spaces for women and that there is little reason for them to attend antenatal check-ups with their partner.
CSI+ facilitated trainings for sixteen of m2m’s Mentor Mothers and their male partners in Maseru, Lesotho and Nairobi, Kenya during January and February. The pilot is expected to run for an initial three months before its impact is evaluated. Mentor couples can be found now in select locations throughout the two countries.
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