Four Ethiopian Mothers Receive International Awards

Four Ethiopian HIV-positive mothers received the 2014 REAL Awards, for their outstanding contributions to the fight against HIV, particularly to prevent mother-to-child transmission of the disease.

After breaking their silence and confronting the stigma faced by people living with HIV and AIDS in Ethiopia, and envisioning that no child be born with HIV from their town, the four mothers:Teberih Tsegay, Almaz Haile, Jember Alemayehu, and Yeshi Derebew received training on prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) and began working in late 2010 as mother mentors at Korem Town’s health center of Tigray Region.

Since that time, they have helped ensure that no HIV-positive mother from the town has given birth to an HIV-positive child.

The REAL Awards was created by Save the Children and the Frontline Health Workers Coalition to develop greater respect and appreciation for health workers and the life-saving care they provide globally, as well as in the United States.

Save the Children and the Ethiopia Network for HIV/AIDS Treatment, Care and Support activity (ENHAT-CS) program co-hosted a trophy presentation for the mother mentors in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 10 April 2014.