FAQs
Digital health (also sometimes referred to as eHealth) is a way of augmenting health services through the use of ICT. It includes mobile health (mHealth), health information technology, electronic health records (EHRs) and telemedicine.
Shared regional infrastructure, capacity and learning's will enable large-scale cost efficiencies, improved health outcomes, faster and better implementations of health programmes.
The Digital REACH Initiative seeks to bring together governments of the EAC countries, the private sector, development partners and other key stakeholders to improve health outcomes across the region through a robust enabling environment and the implementation of strategic regional digital health programs.
The Cross-Border Health Integrated Partnership Project (CB-HIPP) is a regional project funded by the regional health office of USAID- Kenya and East Africa Mission and is implemented by a team of partners led by FHI 360. The Project implementation is from September 1, 2014, to August 31, 2019.
The goal of CB-HIPP is to define implement, document and disseminate lessons learned on sustainable models for cross-border mobile key and vulnerable populations.
Regional East Africa Community Health.
It is a comprehensive set of regional programs to apply information and communication technology (ICT) across all dimensions of the health sector for the improvement of health outcomes and the benefit of patients across East Africa. Partner States include the Republic of Burundi, the Republic of Kenya, the Republic of Rwanda, the Republic of South Sudan, the United Republic of Tanzania and the Republic of Uganda.
The Initiative will drive the implementation of health programs such as cross-border health surveillance and a regional data science cloud. It includes other Initiative workstreams, such as setting policy, developing the workforce and establishing technology standards, will create an environment that enables digital health implementations at the regional and national levels.
The Digital REACH Initiative will improve health outcomes in East Africa through the strategic application of ICT and by bringing together leaders, health workers, and other stakeholders to harmonise digital health strategies, policies and standards. It will increase the reach of health services through telemedicine, improved disease tracking and surveillance and health worker support. The Initiative will also drive interconnectivity between data systems, achieve economies of scale within health programs, stimulate data sharing and enable faster and better implementation of health programs.
The Initiative will have a managing body at the regional level that oversees the various workstreams. The EAC Partner States will also have specific, collaborative responsibilities across the workstreams. A governance structure will be established to ensure appropriate oversight by regional, national, and funding organizations.
EAHRC is the principal advisory institution to the EAC on health Research and Development (R&D).
A variety of funding strategies will be employed to support this ten-year Initiative. Initial funding will likely come from the development community. Ongoing costs will be covered by national budgets, public-private partnerships, and other creative business models.
is an open-access platform with no fee whereby peer-reviewed journals are published online and produce hard copy three times per year by the EAHRC.
The East African Community (EAC) is the regional intergovernmental organisation of the Republics of Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and the United Republic of Tanzania with its headquarters in Arusha - Tanzania. The Treaty for Establishment of the East African Community was signed in 1999 and it entered into force in 2000 following its ratification by the Partner States.
is an open-access platform with no fee whereby peer-reviewed journals are published online and produce hard copy three times per year by the EAHRC.
The regional co-operation and integration envisaged in the East African Community are wide-ranging, involving co-operation in political, economic, social and cultural fields, research, technology and skills development, defense, security and legal affairs for mutual and equitable development in the region.
The main organs of the East African Community are the Summit of Heads of State, the Council of Ministers, the Co-ordination Committee, the East African Court of Justice, the East African Legislative Assembly and the Secretariat.
Autonomous institutions of the Community include the East African Development Bank (EADB), Lake Victoria Fisheries Organisation (LVFO), Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC), the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA), the Civil Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Agency (CASSOA), The East African Health and Research Commission (EAHRC), The East African Science and Technology Commission (EASTC) and the East African Kiswahili Commission (EAKC).
The East African Community aims at widening and deepening cooperation among the Partner States among others in terms of political, economic and social fields for their mutual benefit. To this extent there shall be established a Customs Union as the entry point of the Community, a Common Market, subsequently a Monetary Union and ultimately a Political Federation of the East African States.
EAC reports or publications that have been made available online are organised by sector. That means if you are looking for a report on a subject that is health-related, you will access it from the dedicated EAC Health section (select from EAC Sectors on the menu of links at the top). Reports posted to these websites may not be signed, even if they are an accurate representation of the signed equivalent. For signed copies, visit the EAC Resource Centre.
The Young East African Health Research Scientists' Forum (YEARS' Forum) is an initiative of East African Health Research Commission aiming to empower East African Community (EAC) young researchers to be able to shape the future of research for health in the region.