In 2021, Gertrude’s world transformed into a whirlwind of happiness as she got married to a man of her dreams, setting her heart ablaze with excitement. However, it didn’t take much time for her marital bliss to crumble, leaving her trapped in a living nightmare of emotional abuse.
Desperate for a way out, she reached out to her mother, who undertook a journey to Mozambique, where she was staying with the husband, and brought her back, along with her abusive spouse. But just when Gertrude* thought her worries were behind her, fate had a different idea and threw her another curveball.
She had gotten pregnant while in Mozambique. Determined to provide the best care for her unborn child, she promptly began attending the antenatal clinic. Even after returning to Mulanje, she faithfully continued her visits to the health centre in her area.
Despite her pregnancy, there was no let-up in the emotional abuse, but the couple uneasily stuck by each other. Shortly after their child was born in mid-2022, their marriage came to an end, and the man decided to return home. She soon remarried.
Just as she thought she had finally discovered peace in her home, her world was abruptly disrupted around eight months after giving birth, thrusting her into a state of upheaval once again.
“When I went for antenatal clinic, both in Mozambique and here, I tested negative for HIV on all occasions. However, when I went for another visit to the hospital, eight months after the birth of my daughter, I tested positive for HIV,” recounts the 20-year-old Gertrude.
Upon returning home, she tried to persuade her new husband to get tested as well, but he refused.
Gertrude’s predicament is known all too well to Gloria Ngulube, a ‘mentor mother’ who worked with Mother2Mother on an emergency response project which was implemented in Chiradzulu and Mulanje from April to September 2023 and aimed to focus on vulnerable populations and identify people living with HIV.
As a mentor mother, she is tasked with engaging and providing moral support to pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and adolescent girls and young women.
“When a woman is pregnant, we identify her and encourage her to attend antenatal clinics. Some of them are referred to us and it is our duty to hold their hand and counsel them all along the way,” Ngulube says.
She explains that government policy dictates that women who have given birth must return to the hospital for a check-up six months later. When Gertrude went for her check-up, she tested positive for HIV, despite testing negative throughout her pregnancy.
Gertrude took immediate action by enrolling in ART, but Ngulube’s concern centred around the potential transmission of the virus to their child.
“When someone has tested positive, not many people take it well, so it was up to us to visit her to counsel her and provide moral support. Some people refuse to take the drugs, so it was important to encourage her to take the drugs to protect the child,” Ngulube explains.
Gertrude’s case serves as a reminder about the need to continue providing healthcare services to women after giving birth, she adds.
“We encourage them to test consistently and to always insist on an HIV test before committing themselves to any man,” she says.
Under the emergency response project, which was implemented with support from UNICEF, Mother2Mother facilitators referred women for testing and services, supported client initiation on antiretroviral therapy, and provided adherence counselling for retention in care.
They also supported access to critical maternal and child health, development and social services as well as created demand for and facilitated access to sexual and reproductive health services, including services to address reports of violence and neglect for adolescent girls and young women.
Gertrude has fully embraced her situation and is steadfast in her determination to experience life to the utmost, with her only concern revolving around the challenges she encounters in finding food.
“I received the message well even though it wasn’t something I expected, and I am taking the medicine because this is my life and it has to go on,” she says.
* real name changed
