The East African Community launched its first regional framework aimed at preventing, preparing for and responding to pandemics, seeking to strengthen health security across a bloc of more than 300 million people increasingly exposed to cross-border disease threats.

The Regional Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response Policy Framework, unveiled in Nairobi, Kenya, is intended to guide coordinated action among the EAC's eight partner states during public health emergencies. The policy, approved by regional health ministers in May 2025, draws on lessons from recent outbreaks including Ebola, Marburg virus disease, COVID-19, cholera and mpox.

Regional officials said the framework marks a shift from fragmented national responses toward a collective approach that places surveillance, early warning systems and protection of vulnerable populations at the center of pandemic readiness.

"We have learnt that pandemic preparedness is not the responsibility of the health sector alone. It requires a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach," said Andrea Aguer Ariik Malueth, the EAC Deputy Secretary General responsible for infrastructure, productive, social and political sectors, speaking at the launch.

The framework adopts a one-health approach, acknowledging the links between human, animal and environmental health and bringing in sectors such as agriculture, livestock, tourism and climate change. Malueth said stronger collaboration among partner states was essential to translating policy commitments into action.

"Our strength lies 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 also seeks to address structural weaknesses that have repeatedly undermined outbreak responses in the region, including limited resources, weak surveillance and information systems, and insufficient community and gender-responsive strategies. At the same time, it highlights opportunities in digital health, regulatory harmonization, pooled procurement and regional pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Joseph Gichuru, Deputy Executive Director of the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), which partnered with the EAC in developing the framework, said its adoption reflected the benefits of regional cooperation.

"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," he said.

Delivering the keynote address, Kamene Kimenye, Acting Director General of Kenya's National Public Health Institute, warned that the region's deep economic and social integration meant health threats rarely remained contained within national borders.

EAC officials described the launch as a milestone in efforts to build a coordinated and interoperable regional health system. As the bloc moves toward implementation, the community called on governments, development partners, researchers, civil society, the private sector and the media to support turning the framework into concrete measures aimed at safeguarding lives, livelihoods and regional development.