One sad consequence for many mothers who are found to be HIV positive in pregnancy is that their partners or husbands leave them, blaming them for having the infection.  These mothers are supported by the Mothers Club at the Hospice, but some mothers live so far from the hospital that they are unable to attend.  One of these mothers, who has twin girls called Asnat and Asma, lives with her father in what staff from the hospice describe as severe poverty.  The hospice team was concerned, when asked to visit the family, to find the girls severely malnourished and weighing barely a newborn birth weight at 19 months of age.

The twins are both HIV negative so if they can be given nutritious food they should do well. The hospice team has requested funding for the twins to receive regular food.