Environment

The long rainy season in the East African Community region from March to May, also known as the MAM rainy season, will receive above-average rainfall. This is good news for the region as this season contributes up to 60 per cent of the annual rainfall. With this above-average rainfall, it is hoped that the region will experience improved agricultural and hydrological conditions, regional climate centre predicts. Read more: Link

Kenya's Ministry of Health has implemented several mitigation measures following a warning by the country's Meteorological Department about the likelihood of El Nino rainfall occurring in the country between October and December 2023.

The Kenya Meteorological Department announced recently that during this period the country will experience heightened rainfall, as well as the potential for flooding and landslides in certain regions of the country. It emphasized the importance of proactive preparations by the relevant government agencies to mitigate possible deaths and loss of property.

The mitigation preparedness measures, according to the Ministry, include development of a Contingency Plan for El Nino, close collaboration with County Governments and Partners. 

Read full government statement here: Full government statement

Dar es Salaam, September 15, 2023 - As the East African region braces for the looming threat of El Niño during the upcoming October-November-December (OND) season, Tanzania has taken proactive steps to protect its citizens and mitigate potential damage. The Kenya-based IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC) recently issued a report warning of the likelihood of an El Niño event, prompting the Tanzanian government to develop the National El Niño Contingency Plan and Anticipatory Actions (CP&AA) for Tanzania Mainland, which will be in effect from September 2023 to June 2024.

Tanzania is one of the countries at risk of severe weather events, including floods, droughts, and strong winds, across various regions of the nation. The impact of these events has been exacerbated by factors such as climate change, population growth, urbanization, and increased human activity in disaster-prone areas. These hazards have resulted in loss of life, injuries, infrastructure damage, and disruption of socioeconomic activities.

The Tanzania Meteorological Authority (TMA) has provided forecasts indicating that the upcoming Vuli rainfall season from October to December 2023 is likely to be influenced by El Niño conditions. El Niño is typically associated with above-normal rainfall over most affected regions. While this may be welcomed in some areas, the excess rainfall can also lead to disruptions in sectors vital to Tanzania's economy, including agriculture, livestock, fisheries, tourism, wildlife, transport, energy, water, minerals, health, and various other socioeconomic activities.

To address these potential challenges, the Prime Minister's Office (Policy, Parliament, and Coordination) has taken the lead in coordinating the development of the National El Niño Contingency Plan and Anticipatory Actions (CP&AA). This comprehensive plan has been created through a multisectoral approach, engaging experts and stakeholders from both government and non-government institutions. The Disaster Management Act No. 6 of 2022 has played a pivotal role in facilitating this process, providing a framework for coordinating various sectors through disaster management committees at both the national and local levels.

The CP&AA focuses on ensuring that the government, non-government organizations, communities, and other stakeholders are prepared to prevent and mitigate the impacts of hazards. It emphasizes readiness for response and recovery, with a commitment to building back better after any adverse events. The plan's objectives include establishing and strengthening coordination mechanisms and partnerships, proactive containment of El Niño impacts, and addressing the most vulnerable communities. It also delineates institutional roles and responsibilities and outlines key processes needed for a coordinated, coherent, and consistent management of El Niño-related issues across sectors.

The development of this plan has benefited from the valuable input of experts from government and non-government institutions involved in humanitarian and disaster risk management. Its full implementation is expected to significantly contribute to the prevention of expected losses and damages resulting from the impact of El Niño.

In light of the imminent threat, stakeholders are urged to take their responsibilities outlined in the plan seriously, in addition to sector-specific initiatives aimed at mitigating the negative effects of El Niño. By working together and remaining vigilant, Tanzania is well-prepared to weather the challenges that El Niño may bring, safeguarding its people and its economy.

Read full report

East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 25th March 2022: The EAC Secretariat urges Partner States to take appropriate steps to ensure maximum benefit from farming as the region is expected to receive normal rains over the next few months after almost two years of persistent drought in some EAC areas. This comes after the Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC) of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development has predicted normal rains over East Africa from March to May

“This is good news for the region, though the situation might differ from country to country. Expert guidance is important so that farmers are not over optimistic in case the rains end earlier than usual, but also that the opportunity is not lost,” says Hon Christophe Bazivamo, EAC Deputy Secretary General, Productive and Social Sectors.

The March to May season constitutes an important rainfall season, particularly in the equatorial parts of the region where it contributes up to 70% of the total annual rainfall, according to ICPAC. The rainfall is good for crop and livestock farming if it is not excessive.

The EAC Secretariat urges farmers to plant enough food crops and livestock keepers to plant pastures which can be harvested and stored for feeding of livestock during the dry season. The Secretariat also encourages Partner States to invest more seriously in irrigation and encourages farmers to adopt technologies for water harvesting and storage as well as irrigation systems to increase crop production and productivity during the dry season. Partner States might also consider constructing irrigation systems to bring water from areas which often see flooding to dry but fertile areas to make more arable land available.

As the EAC region begins to recover from the impacts of drought, farmers, agricultural extension workers, and other agricultural value chain actors are encouraged to follow the weather forecasts from the national meteorology departments and agencies and the Ministries in charge of Agriculture and Livestock and to refer to ICPAC’s weekly and monthly weather forecasts. The meteorology departments and agencies are encouraged to publish weather information in a timely manner. They should collaborate with other government departments and agencies such as public health, animal health, environmental health to facilitate timely risk communication and preparing for outbreaks of infectious diseases of public and animal health significance.

According to ICPAC, the southern, central and northern Tanzania, eastern Uganda, northern Burundi, eastern Rwanda, southern and western Kenya, and eastern South Sudan might receive above normal rains this time of the year which might result in flush floods and increased mosquito populations. The EAC Secretariat cautions that this might increase the risk of outbreaks of infectious diseases transmitted by mosquitos such as malaria for humans and Rift Valley Fever for animals which can be transmitted from livestock to humans. The risk of outbreaks of other diseases such as Cholera may increase with the occurrence of flush floods. The public is advised to put in place appropriate measures to minimise infection of people and livestock with mosquito-borne diseases.

For more information, please contact:

Simon Peter Owaka
Senior Public Relations Officer
Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department
EAC Secretariat
Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255 768 552087
Email: sowaka [at] eachq.org

East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 7 October, 2020: While October to December is normally considered an important rainfall season for Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, this time round a drier than normal season is expected in most parts of the EAC region. Only western Uganda and the border area with South Sudan might see higher than normal rainfall according to the Greater Horn of Africa Climate Outlook Forum that brings together the national meteorological and hydrological experts in the region. The Deputy Secretary General in charge of Productive and Social Sectors in the EAC Secretariat, Hon. Christophe Bazivamo, urges the Partner States to take appropriate measures in time to mitigate possible threats to the citizens related to the expected high temperatures.

Rains in the region are expected to start late over Burundi, eastern Kenya and Tanzania while they will start earlier than usual in the rest of Kenya, Rwanda and southern Uganda including the border region with South Sudan. These weather conditions are driven by near average sea surface temperatures over the western Equatorial Indian Ocean coupled with warmer than average conditions over the eastern Equatorial Indian Ocean, a combination which is not favourable for good rainfall over most of East Africa.

Due to the impact of climate change, scientists expect up to 45% yield reductions for grain crops, such as maize, rice and soybean by the end of this century for Sub Saharan Africa. However, two grain crops, namely millet and sorghum, are more resilient to climate change with expected yield reductions of less than 20%. Root crops, such as sweet potato, potato and cassava are also projected to be less affected than most crops with yields reductions ranging from about 15% to 10%. For the two major export crops, tea and coffee, up to 40% yield loss is expected due to the reduction in suitable growing areas caused by increasing temperatures according to the Association of Applied Biologists’ Journals (https://www.aab.org.uk/journals).

In an effort to prevent and mitigate the impact of the drier than usual weather pattern in parts of the region, the Senior Meteorology Officer at the EAC Secretariat, James Kivuva, urges the Partner States to consider the following:

• The Ministries responsible for Water, Environment and Natural resources should enhance water conservation measures;
• They should closely monitor the pasture and water conditions in the pastoral areas and plan for feed and water assistance, such as water tracking and fodder supplementation for the breeding stock;
• The Ministries of Agriculture should advise livestock farmers to use the available grazing resources sparingly and to harvest and keep water, dry herbage and keep it as hay for the animals;
• They should promote and encourage households to establish vegetable gardens to prevent malnutrition and
• Encourage farmers to grow drought-resistant crops like millet, sorghum and cassava.
• Encourage them to observe good agricultural practices as advised by agricultural extension officers.

East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, 10th March 2022: The East African Community Secretariat urges EAC Partner States to step up measures to prevent and respond to outbreaks of infectious diseases following heavy rains in parts of the EAC region. The recommendation follows reports of an outbreak of Yellow Fever in Kenya that has caused the death of at least three people and information on outbreaks of Rift Valley Fever (RVF) among livestock in EAC Partner States received by the EAC Secretariat.

“The heavy rainfalls and high temperatures have resulted in high numbers of mosquitos which transmit vector-borne diseases,” says EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Productive and Social Sectors, Hon. Christophe Bazivamo. He has urged EAC Partner States to report such outbreaks to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) as required and cautioned that the outbreaks of Rift Valley Fever might be followed by human cases if adequate measures are not taken in time. He also alled for EAC Partner States to step up disease surveillance, control, and vaccination against Yellow Fever among their citizens.

Kenya’s Ministry of Health reported on 5th March, 2022 that the government has activated its health emergency response mechanisms following the death of three persons attributed to an outbreak of Yellow Fever in Isiolo County, Eastern Kenya. According to the report, the first case was detected on January 12th this year. Subsequently, 15 patients presented with yellow fever symptoms that include headache, fever, jaundice, muscle and joint pains.

Yellow Fever epidemics can occur when infected people introduce the virus into heavily populated areas with high mosquito density and where most people have little or no immunity, due to a lack of vaccination. Mosquitoes can then transmit the virus from person to person. Patients who contract the virus develop severe symptoms and about 20% of those die within 7 to 10 days (although there are wide variations among countries). Yellow fever is prevented by an extremely effective vaccine, which is safe and affordable. Although there is no cure for Yellow Fever, a single dose of vaccine is sufficient to grant sustained immunity and life-long protection against the disease.

The EAC Secretariat recommends that people protect themselves and especially children against mosquito bites by using mosquito nets, applying insect repellents and avoiding outdoor activities at peak biting times of mosquitos and by eliminating potential mosquito breeding sites.

Rift Valley Fever (RVF) is a disease that affects and kills humans and animals. It is caused by a virus spread by blood sucking mosquitoes and can be transmitted to those individuals who are in close contact with contaminated blood, such as veterinarians, butchers, or animal handlers. Although RVF often causes severe illness in animals, most people with RVF have either no symptoms or a mild illness with fever, weakness, back pain, and dizziness. However, a small percentage (8-10%) of people with RVF develop much more severe symptoms, including eye disease, hemorrhage (excessive bleeding), and encephalitis (swelling of the brain). RVF can also cause significant economic losses due to death and abortion among RVF-infected livestock.

People should practice hand hygiene, wear gloves and other appropriate individual protective equipment when handling sick animals or their tissues or when slaughtering animals. In case of an RVF outbreak, people should avoid consuming fresh blood, raw milk or animal tissue and products without thoroughly roasting them.

The EAC Secretariat further recommends that Partner States intensify risk communication activities with preventive messages that enable the public to manage the risks at hand. In addition, meteorology departments should continue to monitor and analyse the weather patterns and share information with other departments to plan and prepare for outbreaks of infectious diseases of public health concern.

For more information, please contact:

Simon Peter Owaka
Senior Public Relations Officer
Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department
EAC Secretariat
Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255 768 552087
Email: sowaka [at] eachq.org

About the East African Community Secretariat:

The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of six Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.

The EAC Secretariat is ISO 9001: 2015 Certified