The East African Community (EAC) has officially launched its inaugural Regional Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response (PPPR) Policy Framework, marking a major step toward strengthening collective action against public health emergencies across the bloc’s eight Partner States.
Approved by the 25th EAC Sectoral Council of Ministers of Health in May 2025, the framework provides a harmonized roadmap for enhancing disease surveillance, preparedness, and response through deeper collaboration among Partner States.
Central to the policy is a strong emphasis on equity and the protection of vulnerable populations, placing them at the heart of national and regional public health systems.
This approach reflects lessons learned from recent outbreaks, which disproportionately affected border communities, refugees, informal workers, and women.
The PPPR Framework adopts a One Health approach, recognizing the interdependence of human, animal, and environmental health.
It brings together key sectors including agriculture, livestock, tourism, and climate change, acknowledging that many emerging and re-emerging diseases are zoonotic and require coordinated, cross-sectoral responses.
Speaking at the launch, Andrea Aguer Ariik, EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Infrastructure, Productive, Social, and Political Sectors, said the framework offers Partner States an opportunity to institutionalize lessons from recent public health emergencies such as Ebola, Marburg, COVID-19, cholera, and Mpox.
She emphasised that sustained collaboration among Partner States and sector actors is essential to accelerating progress in preventing, detecting, and managing pandemics. “Our strength lies in coordinated action, shared responsibility, and regional solidarity. This framework provides a practical foundation to move from policy to implementation at national, sub-national, and cross-border levels,” she said.
The initiative is a partnership between the East African Community and the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC).
APHRC Deputy Executive Director Joseph Gichuru described the framework as a strong affirmation of regional cooperation in safeguarding public health.
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