Anakazi Center

  Stand Up For African Mothers

On Voices of Anakazi , July 21, we will feature Dr. Teguest Guerma, an Ethiopian national, medical doctor and infectious diseases specialist, was appointed Director General of AMREF in June 2010.  She is the first African woman to lead AMREF since its inception in 1957.

Dr Guerma has enjoyed an extensive career in public health with over 26 years experience with the World Health Organization (WHO).  Until her appointment to AMREF, Dr. Guerma worked as the Associate Director of the HIV/AIDS department for the WHO in Geneva where she was responsible for their overall strategy on HIV/AIDS.  Previously, she served as the WHO representative to UN Headquarters in New York, USA and Gaborone, Botswana; HIV/AIDS and STI Regional Adviser in the WHO Regional office for Africa, in Brazzaville, Congo, and acted as a WHO Representative in Kathmandu Nepal, among other roles.

Dr. Guerma began her career as a medical practitioner and infectious diseases specialist in Senegal and Burundi in the mid-1980s. She holds a medical degree from the University of Reims and post-graduate degrees in Infectious Diseases and Bacteriology Virology from the University of Dakar.   Dr Guerma also received a certificate in Epidemiology from Johns Hopkins University.

STAND UP FOR AFRICAN MOTHERS CAMPAIGN…

 The African Medical & Research Foundation (AMREF), launched the US arm of its global campaign, Stand Up For African Mothers, on July 19^th, 2012

• Graça Machel Mandela, international advocate for women and children’s rights, is the global patron
• Stand Up For African Mothers aims to train 15,000 midwives by 2015 to reduce maternal mortality in Africa
• A skilled midwife can provide care for 500 mothers each year including the safe delivery of 100 babies
• Fifteen thousand additional midwives trained by 2015 will be able to help over seven million African women each year
• The campaign aims to draw attention to the plight of African mothers and to mobilize citizens worldwide to ensure mothers get the medical care they need during pregnancy and childbirth
• The basic premise of Stand Up For African Mothers is that no woman should die giving life and no child should be left an orphan due to lack of maternal health care
• The campaign also coincides with the 2015 deadline for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), especially MDG5 to improve maternal health, including reducing by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio (MDG5a) and achieving universal access to reproductive health (MDG5b)
• AMREF officially launched the global campaign at the Women’s Forum in Deauville, France in October 2011

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Saturday July 15, On Voices of Anakazi we speak to Semhar Araia , Founder and Executive Director of the Diaspora African Women’s Network (DAWN), an organization supporting Africa’s next generation of women diaspora leaders. DAWN seeks to empower and amplify the contributions of African diaspora women inAfrica’s growth, security and prosperity.

With over ten years experience as a US policy analyst and advocate on the Horn of Africa and Sudan, Semhar specializes in conflict resolution, development and the diaspora.  A lawyer by training, she previously served as Oxfam International’s Horn of Africa Regional Policy Advisor, a congressional foreign policy staffer, and an Africa analyst for The Elders. She also served as an attorney on the Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission hearings.

In addition to DAWN, Semhar spends about half her time in Africa and is a frequent guest speaker on US-Africa policy, effective advocacy strategies and civic engagement. She has been featured on various media outlets and was recognized in The Root’s Top 100, which recognizes emerging and established African-American leaders making extraordinary contributions.

She is a 2012 White House Champion of Change and was commended by President Barack Obama for her diaspora leadership. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Saint Thomas and her juris doctor from Marquette UniversityLawSchool. Semhar was born inNew York Cityto Eritrean immigrant parents and currently resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

To participate:Saturday July 15, at 9am PST, 12 noon east, 18 hrs CAT, 17rs GMT
Call 347 237 4270
Listen online www.zambiablogtalkrdio.cm
tweet us a message @anakazi

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ON VOICES OF ANAKAZI, Join our discussion with Ivwananji Mukasa,  Zambian Representative to  the Innovation Summit and Mentoring Partnership which brought more than sixty participants representing nearly every sub-Saharan African country for three weeks of professional exchange and entrepreneurial hands-on training.

Background of the President’s Young African Leaders’ Initiative: The Innovation Summit and Mentoring Partnership is this year’s contribution to the Obama Administration’s President’s Young African Leaders’ Initiative – a long-term effort to develop an enduring and productive U.S.-Africa relationship with the continent’s youth. In August 2010, the initiative began with President Obama’s Forum with Young African Leaders which brought 115 young African leaders to Washington D.C. for interactive exchange and dialogue on themes of youth empowerment, good governance, and economic opportunity. In May 2011, the U.S. Government hosted “The Dialogue with Young Africa Leaders,” a month-long series of programs throughout sub-Saharan Africa featuring over 200 programs in 37 countries to expand leadership and social media skills. In June 2011, the First Lady’s Young African Women Leaders Forum was held in South Africa, bringing together 76 young African women leaders to discuss themes of leadership, women’s empowerment, and community service.