East African Community adopts plan to prepare for El Niño impact

The East African Community has adopted a regional emergency preparedness and response plan to coordinate efforts among member states to address the anticipated effects of a potentially strong El Niño weather event expected to persist through February 2027. The plan was adopted on November 6 during an extraordinary meeting of the Joint Sectoral Council on Cooperation in Defence Affairs, Interstate Security and Foreign Policy Coordination in Arusha, Tanzania.

The plan aims to strengthen early warning systems, protect livelihoods, prevent disease outbreaks and reduce the impact of flooding on infrastructure, agriculture and regional trade. Uganda's First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of East African Community Affairs, Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga, emphasized the need for collective action, stating that member states should act collectively rather than respond to the crisis independently.

The warning is relevant to South Sudan, where flooding, displacement, food insecurity and disease outbreaks have repeatedly affected communities, particularly in flood-prone areas along the Nile and other river systems. According to the EAC, the regional plan is intended to complement national preparedness efforts and strengthen cooperation in areas where climate-related emergencies cross national borders.

The IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre forecast above-average rainfall across much of East Africa during the October-December period, with the strongest rainfall signals expected over eastern Kenya and central to southern Somalia. The centre warned that the effects could continue beyond the rainy season, with flooding potentially followed by drought, prolonged dry spells and cross-border movement of pastoral communities.

Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for East African Community Affairs, ASALs and Regional Development, Beatrice Askul Moe, said her government had adopted a coordinated approach led by the National Disaster Operations Centre. She identified risks in 18 priority counties, prepositioned relief supplies, placed the Northern Corridor under monitoring and deployed cholera response kits in high-risk areas.

Uganda's Minister of Internal Affairs, Ephraim Kamuntu, and Tanzania's Deputy Minister of Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development, Kasper Mmuya, also emphasized the need for regional cooperation and collective preparedness to address the anticipated effects of El Niño. The regional plan identifies five priority areas, including early warning and anticipatory action, health preparedness and response, and infrastructure and tourism resilience.

The EAC Deputy Secretary General responsible for Infrastructure, Productive, Social and Political Sectors, Andrea Aguer Ariik Malueth, said the Secretariat would coordinate implementation through a regional steering committee, an emergency coordination unit and national focal points in each member state. The Secretariat is already working with UNICEF and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to support regional preparedness.

Key points

• The East African Community adopts a regional emergency preparedness plan to address the anticipated effects of El Niño.
• The plan aims to strengthen early warning systems, protect livelihoods and prevent disease outbreaks.
• Member states are urged to prepare for the entire weather cycle, including possible effects on the March-May 2027 rainy season.