East African Community (EAC)

Child mortality in East Africa is still alarmingly high. In the countries of the East African Community (EAC), the number of children who die by the age of five per thousand live births is 85. The global average is 46. The EAC countries have successfully improved health care for their citizens in the last few years. But malaria, diarrhoea and respiratory diseases still claim many victims, above all children. These diseases are preventable and treatable. However, people, particularly in rural areas of the EAC, have poor access to health care services because they are too far away or too expensive. There is also a lack of service quality and adequate medical products to effectively prevent, diagnose and treat diseases. KfW Development Bank supports training for midwives and nurses in the EAC countries to ensure that pregnant women have better care and infants have a healthier start to life.

An essential component of health care is good supply chain management, i.e. an adequate management for supply of health centres with medical products. This includes vaccines, diagnostic tests, drugs, medical devices and family planning. To meet the acute shortage of employees with professional training in supply chain management at the national, regional and district level as well as health centres, the EAC strives to establish a Regional Centre of Excellence to strengthen these competences. KfW supports the EAC in developing a high-quality training program in health supply chain management and in creating a regional hub for expertise in supply chain management that can support the introduction of innovation within the region. The training centre will be located in Kigali at the University of Rwanda, School of Public Health (UR/SPH) and pursue regional networking. The Centre of Excellence contributes to the goals of the new Africa initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and of the German six-point plan for global health.

KfW also finances vaccinations in cooperation with the international Gavi Vaccine Alliance (formerly the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation, today simply Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance). In the last few years, innovative vaccines have been developed against viruses that cause respiratory diseases and diarrhoea. Children who are immunised are protected against these diseases for their entire lives. With its engagement, KfW contributes to significantly lower child mortality in East Africa.

Project information - Health (PDF, 165 KB, non-accessible)

The citizens of the East African nations are hungry for information, which has resulted in an increase in media availability. But the reporting is not always balanced. Even though there has been more freedom of the press in many East African countries over the last few decades, poorly researched, even biased reports are still common in the media. Which is why there is a great need to improve access to independent and critical information. This is the only way to encourage the formation of autonomous decisions and opinions and achieve democratic participation.

In addition, many journalists in the EAC member states are poorly trained and not sufficiently aware of their social responsibility. Professional training has focused to date more on theory than practice. Private media often lacks the financial resources and management expertise. As a result, the training of media managers plays an important role in raising the professional bar in the media landscape.

KfW Development Bank supports the establishment of an independent, private department for media studies at the regional Aga Khan University in Nairobi, Kenya. It aims to offer up-and-coming and working journalists and media managers high-quality basic and advanced training.

Sustainable and coordinated use of Lake Victoria and its catchment area through cross-border water resources management, regional cooperation and infrastructure

To improve the availability and quality of water in the Lake Victoria basin KfW is therefore working with the European Union to support the regional Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) of the East African Community (EAC) in managing the catchment area of Lake Victoria sustainably. In parallel, investments will be made in wastewater infrastructure projects which will have a direct positive impact on the water quality of Lake Victoria.

Lake Victoria is a source of development for East Africa: it provides food, energy and water for the population and economy of the riparian states. As a transport route and cross-border resource, Lake Victoria is a motor for regional integration and stability. However, the lake is under threat: Population growth and economic development are leading to a growing demand for water and increasing competition in the use of the lake. Climate change is further intensifying the pressure on the ecosystem.

Project information - Sustainable management of Lake Victoria - East Africa (PDF, 122 KB, non-accessible)