East Africa plans 34 mobile labs to catch outbreaks early
Health ministers from eight countries also agreed to buy medicines together and to share outbreak intelligence in real time.
Arusha — East African health ministers have agreed to more than triple the region's network of mobile laboratories, from 10 today to 34 by the end of 2027.
The decision came at a meeting of the East African Community's health ministers that ended in Arusha on 6 October, as the region deals with an Ebola outbreak that has already crossed from the Democratic Republic of Congo into Kenya.
Labs that go to the outbreak
The ten existing laboratories are spread across seven of the bloc's eight member states. They are stationed at border points and outbreak areas including Beni, Busia, Nimule-Elegu, Kobero and Bwera, and can test for Ebola, Marburg, Covid-19 and mpox.
A mobile laboratory can confirm a case on the spot. Without one, samples travel for hours or days to a capital city while a patient waits and contacts move on.
Three shared systems
Ministers also advanced three regional mechanisms:
- Pooled procurement. All eight countries have now joined a scheme to buy medicines, vaccines and diagnostics together, which should lower prices.
- An intelligence platform for sharing information on epidemics in real time.
- A tracking system, with a public dashboard, to show whether countries carry out what their ministers agree.
'Health sovereignty'
"Health sovereignty is critical for the region and Africa as a whole," said Uganda's Dr Charles Ayume, who chaired the meeting. "We must give greater attention to and invest in local manufacturing capacity."
The community's secretary general, Stephen Mbundi, called for sustained investment in "surveillance, information sharing, rapid detection and coordinated response and health workforce capacity".
The bloc's members are Burundi, DR Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
Source: East African Community, 8 October 2026.
