East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 17th December 2021: The East African Community (EAC) Secretariat is making progress in a project aimed at strengthening the capacity of EAC Partner States to prevent and control the spread of infectious diseases using hygiene measures, risk communication and community sensitization. The project targets “hotspots” in the region that have a high risk for infection transmission due to crowded living conditions and a lack of clean water as causes of poor hygiene. The Secretariat is collaborating with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in the implementation of the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) project.
Deputy Secretary General of Productive and Social Sectors, Hon. Christophe Bazivamo, recognised the progress made in establishing the handwashing facilities which cater also for children and people with disabilities: “Some of the handwashing facilities have already been completed awaiting handover to authorities and others are at various stages of construction. In addition, more than 1 million people will be reached with health and hygiene promotion initiatives, thanks to a financial support of 1.5 Million EUR from the German government.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 22nd October, 2021: The 9th Regional Steering Committee Meeting of the EAC Regional Network of Public Health Reference Laboratories for Communicable Diseases (EAC – RNPHRL) concluded on Friday, with delegates commending the contribution of the EAC Mobile Laboratories towards regional efforts to mitigate the Covid-19 pandemic.
In his remarks, Dr. John Ndemi Kiiru, Head, Department of Laboratory Services, Ministry of Health, Republic of Kenya observed that the Mobile Laboratories project was a noble initiative that will have a great impact on the lives of the people of East Africa not only in the short term but in the long terms as well. “The Labs have facilitated the Partner States to undertake various initiatives that would have otherwise been impossible to undertake,” he added.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, 26th August 2021: The EAC Secretariat in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is implementing a project on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) that will strengthen the capacity of Partner States to prevent and address infectious diseases at hot spot areas in the region.
“We have secured EUR 1.5 million from the German Government for the project. The project aims at increasing awareness and enhancing health and hygiene protective behaviours and practices to prevent and respond to the spread of infectious diseases including COVID-19,” says EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Productive and Social Sectors Hon. Christophe Bazivamo.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 26th August 2021: Extensive land borders, along with previous disease outbreaks, make the six-member East African Community (EAC) susceptible to communicable infections, including cholera, measles, rift valley fever, yellow fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever and e.coli infections.
However, thanks to a financial contribution of EUR 1.5 million from the German government, over one million people will be reached with health and hygiene promotion initiatives, in addition to 19 hand-washing facilities due to be installed in hot spot areas.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, 23rd August 2021: COVID-19 most probably did not exist in the East African region before the first official cases were reported in March 2020, a study by the EAC Secretariat in collaboration with the East African Health Research Commission (EAHRC) indicates.
The study aimed at verifying if COVID-19 infections had already occurred in the region in 2019 and therefore way before the first cases in Africa were reported by WHO in February 2020. It retested frozen swab samples taken from patients who presented with Severe Acute Respiratory Infections (SARI) between 01st November 2019 and 29th February 2020.
…as the Secretary General calls for more action as opposed to advocacy from Civil Society and Private Sector
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 13th August, 2021: A delegation from the East African Health Platform (EAHP) led by Dr. Aflodis Kagaba, today paid a courtesy call on the Secretary General of the East African Community, Hon. (Dr.) Peter Mathuki at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
Hon. (Dr). Mathuki and Dr. Kagaba discussed the role of the Civil Society and Private Sector in health matters in the region.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 30th July, 2021: The 8th East Africa Health and Scientific Conference and International Health Exhibition and Trade Fair (EAHSC) is set to be held under a hybrid format in Nairobi, Kenya from 17th to 19th November, 2021 under the theme: East African Community Sustainable Development Goal on Health: Reflection and Path ahead to 2030.
The Conference will offer a wide range of technical presentations reflecting developments in the Health sector in the region and around the world. Discussions will focus on areas such as Reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health; Infectious Diseases; Universal Health Coverage; as well as Non-communicable diseases such as mental health and environmental risks.
The 2021 edition of the EAHSC will also incorporate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the region, specifically, the lessons learned and the epidemiology of the pandemic. Further, the Conference will provide room for discussions around Covid-19 vaccines - with a particular focus on: the procurement aspect, and the perception of the vaccines by citizens in the region; Covid-19 coverage and monitoring; management of Covid-19 cases; as well as the Covid-19 variants identified in the region.
The 8th EAHSC will also feature an international health exhibition and trade fair. Research institutions, health care facilities, medical/health academic institutions, medical and pharma industries, NGO's, CSO's, Ministries, EAC Secretariat, International organizations, UN agencies (WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNESCO, etc.) will showcase their services and products at the fair.
Participants to showcase products from research, academia, healthcare services and the health sector in general at the exhibition and trade fair.
Call for Abstracts
The East African Health Research Commission (EAHRC) invites scholars, health professionals, scientists to submit their abstracts under the following thematic areas:
Abstract Topics
Main Theme: East African Community Sustainable Development Goal on Health: Reflection and Path Ahead to 2030.
Sub-theme 1: Reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health
Sub-theme 2: Infectious Diseases
Sub-theme 3: Non-communicable diseases, mental health and environmental risks, substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol, tobacco, global deaths, and injuries from road traffic accidents.
Sub-theme 4: Universal Health Coverage
Sub-theme 5: COVID-19 Pandemic
Submission of Abstracts will close on 4th September, 2021.
The EAC Council of Ministers approved convening of the biennual event and to be hosted on a rotational basis by the EAC Partner States through their respective National Ministries responsible for EAC Affairs, Ministries responsible for Health, and other relevant organizations, and in close collaboration with regional and international health-related NGOs, civil society organizations, individuals, and stakeholders.
The Health and Scientific conferences provide a forum to contribute towards strengthening regional cooperation in the health sector, in line with Article 118 of the Treaty for the establishment of EAC as well as other relevant provisions of the EAC Common Market Protocol.
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, 21st July, 2021: A technical meeting of the EAC Medicines Regulatory Harmonization (EAC-MRH) Programme to develop an Integrated Information Management System (IIMS) for National Medicines Regulatory Authorities (NMRAs) is underway in Karatu, Tanzania.
The EAC has been implementing the MRH programme since March 2012 with the aim of harmonising technical requirements and optimising processes for medicines regulation to facilitate timely access to safe, affordable, efficacious and quality essential medicines, vaccines and medical devices for treatment, management and diagnosis of diseases of public health importance.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 11th June, 2021: The second phase of the EAC Regional Network of Public Health Reference Laboratories for Communicable Diseases Project was launched on Friday at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
The three-year second phase of the project funded by the Federal Government of Germany through the German Development Bank (KfW), is set to further strengthen the capacities of the EAC Partner States to respond to outbreaks of infectious diseases, including bacterial diseases and cross-border epidemics.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 9th June, 2021: The second phase of the EAC Regional Network of Public Health Reference Laboratories for Communicable Diseases Project will be launched on 11th June, 2021 at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
Funded by the Federal Government of Germany through the German Development Bank (KfW), the three year second phase of the project is set to further strengthen the capacities of the EAC Partner States to respond to outbreaks of infectious diseases, including bacterial diseases and cross-border epidemics.
