By Milliam Murigi
From outbreaks of Ebola and Marburg to cholera and Mpox, East Africa continues to face recurring public health threats that go beyond national borders.
Yet each crisis has largely been met with fragmented, country-by-country responses, exposing gaps in preparedness, coordination, and shared surveillance across the region.
“Recent public health emergencies have exposed serious gaps in coordination, surveillance, and response across the region,” said Andrea Aguer Ariik Malueth, East African Community (EAC) Deputy Secretary General in charge of Infrastructure, Productive, Social, and Political sectors.
It is against this backdrop that the EAC has launched a Regional Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response Policy Framework aimed at strengthening pandemic preparedness and response across its partner states.
The policy, which was approved by the EAC Council of Ministers of Health in 2025, seeks to address long-standing gaps in health financing, coordination, workforce capacity and emergency readiness across the region’s health systems.
The framework was developed through extensive consultations with partner states and regional validation processes before receiving ministerial approval.
“This policy is about strengthening our governance and health systems so that when pandemics strike, we respond together as a community, not as individual countries,” he said.
The policy framework integrates the one health approach, recognizing that diseases can be transferred from animals to humans and hence involves other sectors, including agriculture and livestock, tourism, and climate change.
According to him, the policy was informed by the reality that infectious diseases do not respect national borders, making regional cooperation essential, as outbreaks in one country can quickly spread across the region through the movement of people and trade.
“Our strengthlies in coordinated action, shared responsibility, and regional solidarity,” he said. “This framework provides a practical foundation to move from policy to implementation at national, sub-national, and cross-border levels.
The policy emphasizes seamless coordination among partner states, pooled technical expertise, and collective emergency response mechanisms to ensure faster and more effective action during outbreaks. A key pillar of the framework is advocacy for increased financing for the health sector, amid what the EAC describes as a serious regional funding gap.
Currently, most partner states do not have dedicated pandemic preparedness funds, relying instead on emergency reallocations and support from development partners during crises.
“Health is foundational. You cannot develop infrastructure or ensure security if your people are not healthy,” Ariik said. “Insufficient financing hampers deployment of health workers, procurement of equipment and sustained emergency response.”
The policy also addresses the region’s loss of skilled health professionals, many of whom migrate to international organizations or other countries. According to him, while the region has brilliant minds, they are underutilized, making it difficult to mobilize the necessary human capacity during emergencies rapidly.
The framework aligns with ongoing efforts to promote regional manufacturing of vaccines and medicines, including work through an EAC-supported centre focused on advancing local production capacity.
Beyond modern vaccines, the policy also recognizes the potential of traditional and locally developed medicines, calling for research, value addition and regulation to enhance their role in disease prevention and treatment.
Speaking during the same event, APHRC’s Deputy Executive Director, Dr. Joseph Gichuru, commended the partnership between APHRC and the EAC that led to the development and adoption of the Framework.
“The adoption of the Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response (PPPR) Policy Framework in May 2025 stands as a powerful endorsement of what we can achieve when we choose unity over isolation.”
According to Dr. Kamene Kimenye, Acting Director General of Kenya’s National Public Health Institute, East Africa remains highly vulnerable to both endemic and emerging diseases, with health threats in one partner state quickly spilling across borders in a shared economic and social space of more than 300 million people.
COVID-19 pandemic, for example, laid bare critical gaps in surveillance, diagnostics, supply chains, and equitable access to vaccines—weaknesses that were compounded by fragmented, country-by-country responses that left the region poorly prepared for cross-border health emergencies.
“This policy framework offers a comprehensive blueprint to strengthen resilience through cross-border coordination, digital innovation, sustainable financing, and meaningful community engagement,” Dr. Kimenye said.
He added that the framework addresses long-standing challenges, including fragmented coordination, limited resources, weak surveillance and information systems, and insufficient community and gender- responsive approaches. Currently, most partner states do not have dedicated pandemic preparedness funds, relying instead on emergency reallocations and support from development partners during crises.
Additionally, it leverages opportunities in digital health, regulatory harmonization, pooled procurement, and regional pharmaceutical manufacturing to advance self-reliance and early warning and response capabilities.
According to Ariik, shortages of health personnel, equipment and infrastructure have previously hindered effective response to pandemics.
