Announcement

A mother and her child visit

a MAMA+ center in Ukraine

Kyiv, Ukraine - On June 25-26, 2007, Doctors of the World – USA (DOW) and its partners in the MAMA+ Project for the Prevention of Abandonment of Children born to HIV-Positive Mothers (MAMA+) in Ukraine gathered for a two-day national conference to present and discuss the successes and challenges of the MAMA+ Project, begun in June 2005.
 
Flanked by the Director of the USAID Mission in Ukraine and representatives of the Ukrainian ministries for Health Protection and Family, Youth, and Sport, the World Childhood Foundation, and the All Ukrainian Network of People Living With HIV/AIDS, DOW Executive Director Tom Dougherty applauded the MAMA+ program: “Today, we have a broad network of over 40 state and non-governmental organizations that has reached over 635 women in the past two years. Today, there are over 206 children who have received the support they need to grow up with their families, and an additional nine children who were institutionalized at birth have been reunited with their families. And this is just the beginning.”
 
Sharing best practices. The conference was designed to educate national and regional policy makers and service providers on the success of the MAMA+ model and its practices, and to highlight the human rights principles that underlie the project. Discussion facilitators included DOW project coordinators, health care professionals, local NGO representatives, and Ukrainian government representatives. In addition, DOW-produced educational materials, such as its MAMA+ Photo Album, which tells the stories of four MAMA+ clients, were circulated.
 
Combating stigma. DOW’s MAMA+ Project in Ukraine was initiated in July 2005 in response to a growing trend of abandonment of children born to HIV-positive mothers in Ukraine. These women often receive little support to enable them to care for their children. In addition, many face deeply entrenched stigma in state and social institutions, their communities, and sometimes in their own family.  The MAMA+ Project in Ukraine provides a comprehensive set of services to HIV-positive mothers and their families at locations in Kyiv, Donetsk, and Crimea, including psychological counseling, social work, improved access to medical care, and peer support groups. By providing support and services to HIV-positive mothers, and by working to reduce the stigma many face, the program works to keep children within a healthy, nurturing birth-family environment, and to reunite those who have been separated.
 
Building local capacity with a sustainable model. The MAMA+ model relies on local and national partnerships to ensure community-based implementation, both to adequately address the needs of the community, and to ensure a sustainable, replicable model for years to come. DOW also works to build the capacity of local service providers through training and partnership to improve service practices and increase the potential of incorporating MAMA+ practices and principles into local policies.
 
The MAMA+ model was originally developed by DOW in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2004. Since then, the project has been replicated at six locations in Russia and Ukraine, providing services and support to hundreds of women each year.
 
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