East African Community (EAC) heads in Arusha, Tanzania, approved on Friday a regional El Niño emergency plan that aims to coordinate actions across member states amid continued heavy rains projected to last through February 2027, according to a statement issued Monday by the EAC headquarters. The plan, faced during an extraordinary ministerial meeting of the EAC Joint Sectoral Council on Cooperation in Defence Affairs, Interstate Security, and Foreign Policy Coordination, calls for coordinated regional action, noting that none of the member states could manage the cross‑border effects of extreme weather alone.
Ugandan First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of East African Community Affairs Rebecca Kadaga, who chairs the EAC Council of Ministers, underscored the need for joint efforts, warning that unilateral responses would be insufficient. The declaration highlighted six core focus areas: early warning and anticipatory action, health preparedness and response, infrastructure and tourism resilience, agriculture, food security and livelihoods, and climate mobility and displacement, and identified priority risk regions that include the Lake Victoria Basin, Kenya's Tana River and coastal areas, parts of Somalia, the Karamoja‑Teso cluster, the western highlands of Rwanda and Burundi, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Tanzania's Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar.
Background
The plan follows forecasts of sustained heavy rainfall across East Africa, which threatens to exacerbate flooding, disease outbreaks, food insecurity, and displacement. The EAC aims to address these challenges through a comprehensive risk‑area prioritization that factors in climate, geography, and population density across its headquarters.
The Joint Sectoral Council, known for its integrated approach to defence and security matters, added that the EAC Secretariat will urgently mobilize resources and draft a concrete implementation plan by November 30. Moreover, the council directed the creation of a regional disaster information‑sharing dashboard by November 25, to facilitate real‑time updates and coordination among member states.
Implementation and Next Steps
Under the new framework, the EAC will strengthen flood‑risk management and implement measures to protect vital transport corridors, which include the railway and highway networks that sustain regional trade. In addition, the plan entails capacity‑building measures for local health facilities, strategic stockpiling of essential medicines, and the deployment of mobile health units in high‑risk zones. Agricultural actors will receive support for early warning systems, climate‑smart crop varieties, and contingency planning to mitigate crop loss.
In the area of climate mobility and displacement, the EAC emphasizes the need to identify and support vulnerable communities that may be forced to relocate due to adverse weather events, ensuring that adequate social protection mechanisms are in place. The plan also stresses the importance of community engagement and the integration of local knowledge into risk‑management strategies.
The EAC’s emergency response plan foresees close collaboration among ministries, regional economic integration bodies, and international partners, aiming to secure funding and technical assistance. While the statement does not specify a budget, it emphasizes the need for a shared financial platform to expedite resource mobilization.
As the region contends with El Niño’s impacts, the EAC’s coordinated approach sets a precedent for trans‑boundary disaster management, showcasing a model that could be replicated by other regional blocs confronting climate‑related challenges.
