EAC Stakeholders meeting on Risk and Crisis Communication concludes in Nairobi
EAC Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 30th May, 2018:
The stakeholders meeting for Risk and Crisis Communications (RCC) on Communicable and Non-communicable diseases organized by the East African Community Secretariat (EAC) and Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) through the support of Pandemic Preparedness in region (PanPrep) project has concluded in Nairobi, Kenya.
The objectives of the meeting was to broaden the range of awareness of experts involved in risk and crisis communication in the EAC region, facilitate a common understanding of the RCC, introduce the participants to the concept of risk and crisis communication in One Health context and extend Technical Working Group on RCC that will develop a regional RCC strategy and Standard Operating Procedures.
The meeting also explored the opportunities for collaboration and leveraging resources to implement risk and crisis communication within region and committed to support the development and implementation of the regional risk and crisis communication strategy.
Making his remarks during the official opening session on behalf of the EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Productive and Social Sector, Hon Christophe Bazivamo, the EAC Principal Health Officer, Dr. Stanley Sonoiya, expressed his sincere appreciation to the GIZ for supporting the stakeholders meeting.
He underscored the importance of the meeting, which build capacity as well as enable the participants to communicate better whenever there are outbreaks that affect both human beings and animals. Dr. Sonoiya said that medical experts have technical skills but noted that there was a missing gap in terms communication between them and the people at large.
On her part, the GIZ-EAC Project Manager of Pandemic Preparedness, Dr. Irene Lukassowitz highlighted the importance of the project, which is aimed at strengthening the EAC Secretariat in its regional pandemic preparedness support function following a One Health approach.
Note to Editors:
The 15th Ordinary Meeting of the EAC Sectoral Council of the Ministers of Health that took place from 13th to 7th November, 2017 approved the expansion o the EAC Technical Working Group on Communicable and Non-Communicable diseases to include Risk and Crisis Communication (RCC) experts. The EAC Partner States were notified of the decision and in line with the One Health approach requested to nominate a total of 7 RCC experts from different sector, namely from human health (South Sudan), animal health (Burundi), environment (Rwanda) agriculture and wildlife (Tanzania), trade (Kenya), One Health (Uganda) and tourism (Zanzibar). Nominated were experts from health, agriculture, trade, environment and communications.
-ENDS-
For more information, please contact:
Mr Owora Richard Othieno
Head, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department
EAC Secretariat
Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255 784 835021
Email: OOthieno [at] eachq.org
About the East African Community Secretariat:
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of five Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
The EAC Secretariat is ISO 9001:2008 Certified