East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 28 May 2020: According to the Greater Horn of Africa Climate Outlook Forum Statement, parts of South Sudan, Western Kenya, Uganda, Northern Tanzania and Rwanda are expected to receive above normal rainfall between June and September 2020, while the rest of the EAC Region is expected to experience the normal dry season. “It is against the backdrop of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the heavy floods that have caused havoc in parts of the region and the second wave of desert locust invasion, the EAC Secretariat urges the Partner States to take appropriate measures to ward off further threats to our people” says the EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Productive and Social Sectors, Hon. Christophe Bazivamo.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 27 May 2020: The EAC Secretariat is enhancing the capacity of staff at the eight international airports in the region on the prevention of and response to the spread of COVID-19 ahead of Partner States resuming their flight schedules. The first training of trainers (TOT) started yesterday at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 21st May, 2020: The Republic of Kenya on Wednesday received two mobile laboratories from the East African Community Secretariat as part of regional efforts to contain COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.
Kenya’s EAC Affairs and Regional Development Cabinet Secretary, Mr. Adan Mohammed, handed over the mobile labs on behalf of the EAC Secretary General, Amb Liberat Mfumukeko, to the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Hon. Mutahi Kagwe.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 21st May, 2020: The East African Community Secretariat has handed over mobile laboratories and Coronavirus test kits to the Republic of Kenya.
During the hand-over ceremony at the Tanzania/Kenya border town of Namanga, the EAC Secretariat handed-over two four-wheel drive vehicles fitted with laboratory and ICT equipment, as well as all the necessary consumables for a fully functional laboratory with the capacity to conduct tests for Ebola and the coronavirus in addition to other pathogens.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 10th May, 2020: East African Community Partner States have been directed to support local production of essential medical products and supplies including masks, sanitizers, soaps, processed food, ventilators as part of efforts to combat COVID-19 in the region.
A Joint consultative meeting of Partner States’ Ministers and Cabinet Secretaries responsible for Health, Trade, Transport and EAC Affairs via video conference held on 8th May, 2020 to discuss a regional approach to COVID-19 further directed Partner States to facilitate farmers to continue farming activities during this pandemic and post COVID-19 period.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 30th April, 2020: The East African Community has unveiled a comprehensive COVID-19 Response Plan to reinforce measures to protect and prevent further spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic within the region.
The response plan was developed following a directive by the Joint Meeting of Ministers responsible for Health, Trade and EAC Affairs held via Video Conference, which directed the EAC Secretariat to finalize and submit the EAC Regional COVID-19 Response Plan to the Partner States.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 30 April, 2020: Human mobility across countries, largely driven by air travel, has been one of the main vectors that facilitated the rapid spread of COVID-19 across the world, and many of the confirmed COVID-19 cases in the EAC region have also had a history of air travel.
Airports in the EAC region enhanced their preparedness and response measures early and have been able to intercept several COVID-19 susceptible travelers through intensified surveillance and screening. Yet, airports continue to be high risk areas for the spread of infectious diseases.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 23rd April, 2020:The East African Community Secretariat has handed over a mobile laboratory containing equipment and consumables including COVID-19 testing kits to the Republic of Burundi at the Kobero border post on the Burundi/Tanzania border.
Prof. Joseph Nyandwi, the Director General of the National Institute for Public Health in Burundi, received the mobile laboratory consignment on behalf of the country's Minister of Public Health and Fight Against AIDS, Dr. Thadee Ndikumana.
Prof. Nyandwi thanked the EAC Secretariat for the support which he said comes in at a time the country and the world was fighting to curb the spread of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 15th April, 2020: The East African Community under the Mobile Laboratory Project has today deployed nine (9) mobile laboratories and Coronavirus test kits to all EAC Partner States in a bid to detect and respond to highly infectious diseases such as COVID-19 and Ebola.
Speaking to the media while flagging off the mobile laboratories and equipment, EAC Secretary General, Amb Liberat Mfumukeko said tha each Partner State would receive a four wheel drive vehicle fitted with laboratory and ICT equipment, as well as all the necessary consumables for a fully functional laboratory with the capacity to conduct tests for Ebola and the Coronavirus in addition to other pathogens.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 14 April 2020: The COVID-19 global pandemic is not only a major health crisis that challenges health systems across the globe. It has far reaching ramifications on economies worldwide. The medium- and long-term effects resulting from the measures taken to slow down and contain the spread of the disease remain unforeseeable.
The East African Community region is no exception. On a positive note, the free movement of goods and services in the EAC has been maintained and the supply situation for staple food and basic necessities is currently secured. However, on the negative side, enterprises across sectors including the agro-industry and particularly the informal sector are suffering. Value chains have been disrupted and tourism, a major source of income in the region, has come to a complete stand-still.
