EAHRC has initiated strategic regional initiatives/programmes that are broad, multi-sectorial and with long-term sustainable socioeconomic impact. Some of them are;

1. Digital Regional East African Community Health (Digital REACH) Initiative

Digital Regional East African Community Health (Digital REACH) Initiative. Digital REACH Initiative is a novel and ground-breaking initiative to transform the health service delivery and health outcomes in the region for millions of people, through scaled uptake and utilisation of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) across the entire health sector. The Digital REACH Initiative maximises the power of digital health in East Africa by ensuring an enabling environment and investment in digital health by implementing scaled, coordinated, transformational and innovative approaches.

The outcome goals are to;

• Optimise the Diagnosis and Treatment of Priority Health Conditions.
• Improve Health Worker Education and Training.
• Improve Supply Chain Management.
• Enhance Public Health Education and Awareness.
• Guarantee Universal Access to Quality Healthcare.
• Increase Surveillance and Improve Response.
• Optimise Human Resource Allocation and Management.
• Monitor Population Health Status. Read more

2. Young East African Health Research Scientists’ Forum (YEARS’ Forum)

The Young East African Health Research Scientists’ Forum (YEARS’ Forum) is an initiative to empower the next generation research scientists and leaders in East Africa to be able to shape the future of health, considering the new and unique features of this millennium that are going to influence significantly the socioeconomic development of our community. Read more

3. East African Government Leaders, Legislators, and Legal Executives’ Forum (EAGLES’ Forum)

The East African Government Leaders, Legislators and Legal Executives’ Forum (EAGLES’ Forum). EAHRC coordinates the EAGLES’ Forum. The forum brings together EAC government leaders, members of parliament, officials from the judiciary system, health experts and the EAHRC to discuss health issues. The forum that brings together the three pillars of governance in the EAC and its Partner States allows for attaining a consensus and collective position on pertinent health issues. The forum is also attended by invited technocrats, development partners, members of the civil society and non-governmental organizations.

4. East African Health and Scientific Conference (EAHSC)

The East African Health and Scientific Conference (EAHSC). The EAHSC is an EAC biennial event convened in East Africa by the EAHRC in collaboration with a host EAC Partner States. Hosting of the event is rotational to each of the Partner States and at the Partner States level is coordinated through the ministries responsible for EAC affairs, ministries responsible for health and other relevant organisations. It is done in close collaboration with regional and international health-related NGO's, civil society organisations, individuals and stakeholders.

The EAHSC contributes towards strengthening regional cooperation in health and enhances the EAC ideals of free movement of people, services and goods. Read more

5. The Official East African Web Portal for Health Information

The web portal www.eahealth.org is the official comprehensive compendium of health information in East Africa. It provides information on the regional health sector and of each of the Partner States. The information ranges from health services, health/medical education, research, organization and governance in health, reports, key health indicators, health A to Z conditions, events, and alerts related to health etc.

6. EAHRC Journals

a. East African Health Research Journal

East African Health Research Journal (EAHRJ): The Basis for Better Health Policy and Practice. EAHRJ contains peer-reviewed articles, original articles, reviews, book reviews, short communications, surveys, commentaries, opinions on policy or practice, essays, reports, etc., from East Africa. It covers the wide range of subjects and issues in the health sector ranging from medicine, geo-medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmacology, toxicology, pharmaceutical science, veterinary science, food science, health-related agriculture science, health professionals, etc., that provide evidence for improving health policy and practice. Read more

b. East Africa Science

East Africa Science (EASci): Search, Discover, Develop. The journal publishes scientific research and innovation in health including clinical trials (on investigational medicinal products, devices, and diagnostics), application of health technologies and solutions, and other related matters. It promotes research innovation, development of innovative ideas, application of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in health, and the application of knowledge from health research innovations.

EASci contains peer-reviewed articles, original articles, reviews, short communications, surveys, commentaries, opinions, book reviews, supplementary issues, essays, and reports related to advancement in health and medical sciences. Read more

7. Regional East African Community Health Policy Making and Implementation (REACH PMI) Initiative

The Regional East African Community Health Policy Making and Implementation (REACH PMI) Initiative. The REACH PMI initiative addresses the ‘know-do gap’ through a structured, and proactive approach to apply the available evidence, knowledge and best practices. It addresses the delays in conducting research of immediate relevance to policy and decision making. It fosters integrated and equity-centred health development.

8. Regional East African Community Health Research Funding and Accessing (REACH RFA) Initiative

The Regional East African Community Health Research Funding and Accessing (REACH RFA) Initiative. The initiative aims at identifying research priorities for health, mobilising resource, managing the resource and conducting regular and thorough monitoring and evaluation of the impact of the resource and outputs to the health and wellbeing of the citizens.

9. East Africa Health Cloud

The East Africa Health Cloud, a regional, real-time central data store for capturing, storing, retrieving, analysing, and managing national and regional health data. The warehouse will be a resource centre for the evidence-driven health sector.

10. East African Cross-Border Health Services Pilot Programme

The populations that live along the EAC borders face health challenges that are unique to cross-border areas and can best be addressed collectively through an EAC regional initiative. Cross-border areas, with daily free movement of people, goods and services, are a unique ecosystem.

In order to address key challenges associated with the provision of quality health services for mobile populations and communities residing along strategic border areas of East Africa, EAHRC envisages implementing an East Africa Cross Border Health Service (EA-CBHS) pilot Programme. The program will employ a technology-driven strategy in selected sites with the goal of addressing risks that transcend borders and improving health service delivery and health outcomes using innovative health technology.

The goal of EA-CBHS Programme is to employ a technology-driven strategy and regional digital infrastructure to strengthen the cross-border health system through establishment of digital health implementations to enable continuous and real-time generation of information on priority health issues associated with mobile populations and communities residing along strategic border areas of East Africa and support the continuum of care and surveillance of diseases in the region.

11. EAHRC Networks

EAHRC as per its mandate has established or facilitated the establishment of regional networks of research, academic, and other health-related organisations to address priority regional health agendas. The institutions have teamed up with international reputable academic institutions to allow for knowledge and technology transfer and sharing. The networks among others support the translation of health research to policy in East Africa. Some of the networks are;

a. East African TWENDE Clinical Trials Network (acronym: TWENDE-CTN)

The word Twende comes from the Eastern African lingua franca, Swahili that means “encouraging each other to move forward together”. TWENDE’s broad objective is to create a network of complementary Centers of Excellence (CoE) in the East African Community region, develop a critical mass of personnel, technology, and infrastructure to perform ICH-GCP standard clinical trials. It is comprised of research and research-academic institutions which are well-intertwined within the regional healthcare system.

b. Holistic Approach To Unravel Antibacterial Resistance in East Africa (acronym: HATUA)

Hatua is a Swahili word synonymous to “take action”. The consortium is established with a broad objective of providing a coordinated regional response to curtail the imminent impact of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Embedded within the EAC Partner States, HATUA takes the global antimicrobial resistance crisis in a regional holistic context and uses a range of research approaches from clinical, microbiological and geographical to modelling and social sciences, to identify, understand and map the burden and drivers of antibiotic resistance across different communities and environments in East Africa.

Other Ongoing Programmes

1. Baseline and needs assessment of clinical trials capacity in the EAC Partner States.

2. Baseline and needs assessment and mapping of sources for domestic financing health research in the EAC Partner States.

3. Baseline and needs assessment of ethics review frameworks in health research for the purpose of harmonization of the frameworks in the EAC           Partner States.

4. Capacity strengthening and harmonisation of ethics review and regulatory frameworks for clinical trials in East Africa.

5. East Africa Cholera project.