Coach Mpilo: The Brotherhood Helping Men Reclaim Their Health
Coach Mpilo is a peer‑coaching initiative launched in South Africa to confront the gender gap in HIV treatment. The program, backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, PSI and Matchboxology, equips men living with HIV to support each other through diagnosis, disclosure and medication adherence. Research showed that many men knew their status but avoided therapy because of shame, fear of judgment and perceived loss of masculinity. By pairing newly diagnosed men with trained “coaches” who share their own experiences, the model turns vulnerability into a source of credibility. In a seven‑month pilot, 96 % of men who had previously dropped out of care re‑engaged and remained on antiretroviral treatment. One participant recalled losing three cousins to AIDS and fearing he was next, while coach Sabellu highlighted that “our main focus is health, not just HIV.” Coaches also reported secondary gains: reduced alcohol consumption, lower rates of violence and improved overall wellbeing among members. If scaled, Coach Mpilo could reshape public‑health strategies by demonstrating that community‑driven mentorship outperforms conventional outreach, offering donors and governments a cost‑effective path to higher viral suppression and broader socioeconomic benefits.
It Takes a Community to End Tuberculosis
A new phase‑three trial of the M72 tuberculosis vaccine is underway across Africa and Asia, with roughly 20,000 volunteers, aiming to halt the progression from infection to disease. The effort is anchored in South Africa, where TB mortality remains among...