TANZANIA HOSTS SOUTH SUDAN TALKS

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and his former vice-president

Riek Machar are expected at the official launching of the talks

Tanzania's ruling party on Monday is hosting talks aimed at reconciling rival factions within South Sudan's ruling Sudanese People's Liberation Movement (SPLM).

"These new talks are coming at the request of the leadership of the SPLM and will be bringing together various groups in the ruling party," Abdulrahaman Kinana, secretary-general of Tanzania's ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, told Anadolu Agency.

He said the meetings, held at Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge some 30km outside Arusha, would seek to reconcile both the SPLM leadership and the people of South Sudan.

"South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and his former vice-president, Riek Machar, are expected at the official launching [of the talks], which is expected to take place today," said Kinana, who will chair the discussions.

"Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, who is also CCM national chairman, is expected to officiate the talks, [which are] aimed at resolving the internal strife which has claimed thousands of lives [in South Sudan]," he added.

The official launch of the process follows a week-long intra-SPLM dialogue in Arusha that began on October 12 behind closed doors.

"During the week-long discussions, we agreed to establish a framework for the SPLM dialogue, including shared principles, objectives and an agenda," said Kinana.

"The initial phase of the dialogue was held in a frank, honest and cordial manner," he noted.

South Sudan, which became the world's newest nation after seceding from Sudan in 2011, descended into bloodshed late last year following an alleged coup attempt against Kiir by Machar.

Hundreds of thousands of people have since lost their lives while more than 1.7 million have been displaced by the conflict.

In recent months, South Sudan's warring camps have held on-again, off-again peace talks in Addis Ababa under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD), a Djibouti-based East African regional bloc.

The ongoing turmoil in South Sudan has dimmed its prospects for joining the Arusha-headquartered East African Community (EAC), which has urged the troubled country to first put its house in order.

STAND UP FOR AFRICAN MOTHERS!

Do you know that approximately about 7,900 women die from pregnancy, childbirth and birth-related complications every year in Tanzania, due to lack of basic skilled medical care. Over 80% of these deaths could be prevented by skilled health workers such as midwives. The lifetime risk of death due to pregnancy and childbirth in Tanzania is 1 in 23 compared to 1 in 4,200 in developed countries.

It is estimated that, about 50% of Tanzanian women give birth at home without any medical care and about 15-45% of HIV positive mothers transmit HIV infection to their babies due to lack of health care workers to implement HIV prevention, treatment, and care and support services.

For each woman who dies an average of 20% are left with lifelong complications like Obstetric Fistula, nearly 40,000 babies die during the first 28 days of life. Almost 100,000 children die before reaching their 5th Birthday. 

The Stand Up for African Mothers campaign seeks to address maternal mortality and contribute towards Millennium Development Goal 5 which focuses on reduction of maternal mortality by 2015.  Amref Health Africa stresses on the important role that midwives play in saving lives and is advocating for the symbolic nomination of a midwife for the Nobel Peace Prize 2015, as well as raise funds to train 15 000 midwives in sub-Saharan Africa by 2015 - See more at: 

http://standupforafricanmothers.org/#sthash.f3gurTfH.dpuf

Stand Up for African Mothers campaign was launched in Tanzania on May 15th 2012 by the First Lady of Tanzania, Her Excellency Mama Salma Kikwete and will run up to 2015. Its ultimate goal is to contribute to sustained reduction of maternal deaths in Tanzania by 2015 and beyond.

How to support this campaign

Sponsor a training of one midwife at a cost of $3000 Sign the petition for Esther Madudu's nomination through 

http://www.standupforafricanmothers.com

Contribute through 

TigoPesa No +255 716 032 441,  

Airtel Money +255 684 506 306 ,

MPESA +255 762 223 348 and

National Bank Corporation, Corporate Branch account number 011103000458

Spread the word of mouth about the campaign to encourage others to stand up for African mothers by supporting the training of midwives