East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 17th May, 2022: The East African Community (EAC), International Organization for Migration (IOM) and German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) have officially handed over handwashing facilities to authorities in six EAC Partner States as part of efforts to strengthen cross border collaboration on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). A total of 32 such facilities have been built in high risk areas for the spread of infectious diseases in the six countries of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. The cooperation project that ended with the hand-over of these facilities also included risk and crisis communication and sensitization measures in the respective communities.
The handwashing facility at Kamanga Point of Entry in the city of Mwanza was handed over to the government of Tanzania on 14 May, 2022. This happened during a regional meeting held from 12 to 14 May, 2022 in Mwanza that brought together national authorities, experts, decision-makers, and key stockholders from across the EAC region. The meeting also aimed to identify and address gaps in strengthening cross-border preparedness and response and promote regional standards and policies in accordance with the International Health Standards (IHS).
The programme will enhance policy and regulatory environment for competitive markets and improve infrastructure connectivity and access to ICT.
Lusaka, Thursday, May 12, 2022: Five Regional Economic Communities (RECs) are set to benefit from a new eight million euros project: Enhancement of Governance and Enabling Environment in the ICT sector (EGEE-ICT), funded by the European Union. The project was launched on Thursday 12 May, 2022 in Lusaka, Zambia.
The four-year programme covers 29 African countries from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) as the lead, the East African Community (EAC), the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD), the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). It will support the review and/or development of various regional policy and regulatory framework in a harmonized manner that will contribute to enhancing competition and improved access to cost effective and secure ICT services.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 12th May, 2022: The East African Community will conduct the 12th EAC Armed Forces Field Training Exercise (FTX) USHIRIKIANO IMARA 2022 in Jinja, Uganda from 27th May to 16th June, 2022.
The exercise will be conducted in accordance with Article 2 of the EAC Protocol on Cooperation in Defence Affairs under the theme, “Promoting Peace, Security and Stability towards the East African Community Integration.”
The main objective of the exercise is to train the Partner States’ Armed Forces, Police, Civilian components and other stakeholders in planning, and conduct an integrated mission encompassing; peace support operations, disaster management, counter terrorism and counter piracy.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 10th May, 2022: The European Union (EU) has reaffirmed its readiness to continue working with the East African Community (EAC) in combating terrorism and trans-national crime in the region.
The Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Tanzania and the EAC, Amb. Emilio Rosetti, said that any region or country must be stable and secure to deliver on its development goals, adding that peace and stability were the building blocks for the free movement of persons, labour, goods and services, which are the essence of all integration initiatives.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 10th May, 2022: The East African Community Secretary General, Hon (Dr) Peter Mathuki, has hailed cordial relations between the European Union (EU) and EAC Partner States coupled with strong trade relations since 1975 under the Lomé Convention and the Cotonou Partnership Agreements.
The Secretary General said that the EU for a number of years has been supported the EAC regional integration agenda through the National Indicative Programmes (NIPs), the Regional Indicative Programme (RIP) and implementation of several East Africa Road Network/Transport Corridors, Energy projects, migration programmes and frameworks for democratic governance among other programmes.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 6th May, 2022: The new Deputy Registrar at the East African Court of Justice (EACJ), Ms. Christine Mutimura-Wekesa, has formally assumed office.
Ms. Wekesa took the Judicial Oath during a special session of the Court held at the EACJ Appellate Division Courtroom at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha with the Judge President of the EACJ, Justice Nestor Kayobera, presiding assisted by other Judges.
Administering the judicial oath on behalf of the Counsel to the Community was the Principal Legal Officer at the EAC Secretariat, Mr. Michel Ndayikengerukiye.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 6th May 2022: East African Community (EAC) Ministers / Cabinet Secretary in charge of Trade and Finance have adopted 35 percent as the 4th Band of the EAC Common External Tariff (CET).
The Ministers, during a retreat on the comprehensive review of the CET, held on 5th May 2022, in Mombasa, Kenya, decided that implementation of the reviewed EAC CET shall commence on 1st July, 2022.
The meeting further agreed that there should be flexibility in implementation of the revised CET, particularly on products currently affected by the current global economic realities.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 6 May 2022: The East African Community Secretariat today held the first simulation exercise (SIMEX) since the onset of COVID-19 pandemic in order to strengthen preparedness and bolster response to future public health emergencies in the Partner States.
The exercise is part of a one-week regional training workshop to strengthen national capacities for exercise operations at ports of entry and is a follow up on Table Top exercise conducted in Arusha in 2018 and the cross-border field simulation exercise at the Namanga border between Kenya and Tanzania in June 2019.
The simulation exercise, taking place at Kilimanjaro International Airport in the United Republic of Tanzania, is intended to test the knowledge and skills acquired by the participants during the training workshop. The aim of the exercise is to link early warning with preparedness and response. The logistics drill includes a realistic disaster scenario which will help the participants to build skills for design and implementation of simulation exercises at national level.
Kilimanjaro International Airport Security Manager, Justine Makomondi Kisusi, confirmed that the exercise is necessary for strengthening readiness to respond to public health emergencies: “We are delighted to receive all delegates for this emergency simulation exercise, as it will help us combat future outbreaks”.
In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, in recent years, the East African Community (EAC) has experienced numerous outbreaks of infectious diseases and other events of public health concern, such as droughts and floods. In the African Region, about 100 public health events are reported annually. In the last three years, East Africa has had several disease outbreaks such as yellow fever, cholera, Rift Valley fever, Marburg virus disease, measles and Ebola. The region is also prone to natural disasters such floods, landslides and drought. The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic reinforced the need to enhance public health emergency capacities at ports of entry.
To better prepare for public health emergencies, the EAC Secretariat, with support of WHO and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, conducted a training of 60 emergency response experts and officials from Burundi, Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda on management of public health emergencies at ports of entry. The participants were selected from various One Health sectors including health, environment, agriculture and animal heath, trade, tourism and defence.
Speaking during the opening ceremony, Dr David Balikowa from the East African Community noted that it is critical to keep “assessing and improving the regional health crisis response capacity and status of implementation of the International Health Regulations”. Dr Mary Stephen, the WHO Regional Office for Africa Focal Point for International Health Regulations reminded participants of the increasing occurrence of emerging and re-emerging diseases which present immense challenges to detect and contain. The Manager of the EAC/GIZ Support to Pandemic Preparedness in the EAC Region project in Arusha, Tanzania, Dr Irene Lukassowitz, agrees on the need to be prepared for future outbreaks, as “fighting for more resilient health systems can also help withstanding the shock if disaster and potential damage from emergencies”.
For more information, please contact:
Simon Peter Owaka Senior Public Relations Officer Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department EAC Secretariat Arusha, Tanzania Tel: +255 768 552087 Email: sowaka [at] eachq.org
About the East African Community Secretariat:
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of six Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 27th April, 2022: Eighteen Members of the East African Legislative Assembly Committee on Regional Affairs and Conflict Resolution are currently in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for a five-day benchmarking visit to the African Union Commission (AUC).
The overall objective of the 25th- 29th April, 2022 visit is to interact with AUC Stakeholders involved in Peace and Security, and Political Affairs as well as acquaint themselves with operationalization of the African Union’s peace, security and political programmes.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 26th April, 2022: The 17th Meeting of the Sectoral Council on Education, Science and Technology, Culture and Sports (SCESTCS) has just been concluded in Dar es Salaam Tanzania.
The Sectoral Council considered matters of Education and Training; Culture and Sports; East African Kiswahili Commission (EAKC); the Inter- University Council for East Africa (IUCEA) and the East African Science and Technology Commission (EASTECO).
In her opening remarks, the Chairperson of the meeting, Dr. Sarah Ruto, the Chief Administrative Secretary at the Ministry of Education, Kenya, commended the Secretariat for the achievements so far made in the Sector.
Dr. Ruto said that Education, Science and Technology were key to the region’s development, adding that there was still much more to be done especially in skilling the youths with the required skills and competencies.
