East Africa steps up El Niño preparedness

Nairobi, KENYA: EAST African countries have been urged to strengthen preparedness for El Niño rains following the 2023/2024 season, which caused losses exceeding 2 billion US dollars and displaced more than 1.5 million people across the region.

The call was made on November 5, 2026, during the opening of a Special Regional Sectoral Meeting on El Niño Preparedness and Response in Nairobi, Kenya. The meeting brought together Permanent Secretaries to develop joint strategies for mitigating climate-related disasters, which often cross national borders and require coordinated responses.

Tanzania was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Charles Kadonya.

Member states were urged to safeguard critical transport and energy infrastructure connecting the region, strengthen food reserves, support farmers and invest in water harvesting and storage facilities to reduce vulnerability to extreme weather.

The meeting also emphasised the need to improve disease surveillance and control systems to prevent outbreaks associated with flooding, particularly cholera and malaria.

Such measures are essential because extreme rainfall can disrupt essential services, threaten food security and increase public health risks beyond affected communities.

Tanzania presented its national El Niño response plan and expressed readiness to participate fully in implementing the regional action plan developed during the meeting.

The plan seeks to coordinate emergency responses, identify priority intervention areas and ensure resources are available on time to enable member states to protect lives and property.