The Global Health Council Award was presented at the Council’€™s 37th Annual International Conference on Global Health on in Washington DC.

The Award for Best Practices is given annually to highlight the efforts of individuals dedicated to improving the health of disadvantaged and disenfranchised populations, and recognide programs that demonstrate the links between health, poverty and development.

Besser founded mothers2mothers with one site in South Africa in 2001. It has grown to more than 645 sites in South Africa, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Rwanda, Swaziland and Zambia.

The programme employs over 1 600 HIV-positive women who conduct more than 200 000 client interactions per month.

In 2009, mothers2mothers enrolled nearly 300 000 pregnant women and new mothers living with HIV as clients.

Recognising the need for a program that would provide hope to pregnant women struggling with the devastation of an HIV diagnosis, Besser founded mothers2mothers. He recognised that the most underutilised resource in Africa are mothers themselves, and created an opportunity to effectively integrate these women into an overstressed health care system.

His vision was simple and innovative ‘€“ have mothers talk to mothers. Specifically, take newly delivered mothers who are HIV-positive, put them through a comprehensive curriculum, and employ them as ‘€œMentor Mothers.’€

mothers2mothers partners with existing health care systems to enhance the full range of needs HIV-positive pregnant mothers seek.

By effectively professionalising their role alongside overburdened doctors and nurses, Mentor Mothers fill health care delivery gaps in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Mentor Mothers also effectively breakdown stigma and other treatment barriers, as they are perceived as role models in clinics and their communities.

Recipients of the Award for Best Practices are selected for their ability to exhibit measurable results in the field, as well as the capacity and expertise to share, inspire and extend their best practices.

A graduate of Harvard Medical School, Dr. Besser was positioned for a traditional career in the private sector.

Instead, he chose to dedicate his life to providing equality of medical services to marginalised women without access to treatment and support.

Eager to tackle the challenges of the developing world, Besser joined the U.S. Public Health Service; he was the first obstetrician-gynaecologist to work in Truk State, Micronesia, spending three years working with the department of health to build the state’s family planning.

Moving to Cape Town, South Africa in 2000, to develop initiatives reducing mother-to-child transmission of HIV and provide care to women living with HIV/AIDS, he established antenatal care programs for HIV-positive pregnant women and their infants.

Previously, m2m has received the 2008 Skoll Foundation Award for Social Entrepreneurship and the Schwab Foundation’€™s African Social Entrepreneur recognition. m2m has also been honoured by the Ashoka Foundation and with the South African Impumelelo Award.