Concern as East African health body is underfunded, understaffed

Arusha. Three to six staff members, a three-storey office block milked $4,500 (Sh10.58 million) each month as rent.

That amounts to $54,000 per year (Sh126.9 million), which is enough to erect a modern office building and save money.

To make matters worse, the East African health body is short of critical human resources to execute its duties.

This is the sad story of the East African Health Research Commission (EAHRC), which was established to spearhead health research in the region.

A recently released report says the institution based in Bujumbura is gravely short of resources to run it.

The report tabled before the regional Assembly called for urgent measures to salvage the regional body.

"It is a shame, Mr Speaker," lamented James Kakooza, an East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) member from Uganda.

He said the way the organization operates now is a glaring case of misuse of money or sheer neglect.

He proposed that EAHRC revert to its earlier base at the East African Community (EAC) seat in Arusha or construct its own head office.

He said the Burundi government had already made available six hectares of land in Bujumbura way back in 2016 for this purpose.

However, Mr Kakooza told a recent House sitting that the Commission has not started construction work.

"The site has not been developed. Yet the Commission is paying an exorbitant monthly rent of $4,500, or $54,000 a year", he said.

The revelations are contained in the report of the Eala Committee on Accounts following an oversight activity by its members at EAHRC.

Mr Kakooza, who is a committee member, said they were told that the Commission currently had only three to five staff. Incidentally, the EAHRC organisational structure indicated 34 established positions, 28 of which are not occupied.

He appealed to the EAC leaders to salvage it due to its critical need, as was the case during the Covid-19 period.

For instance, out of the $1.8 million that was to be remitted by the EAC partner states during 2019/20, only $1.2 million was received.

Consequently, there was an uncollected balance of $669,415, negatively impacting EAHRC’s ability to achieve its targets.

During the 2023/24 fiscal year, the Commission received an allocation of $2.1 million for its annual expenditure.

The EAC Council of Ministers was requested to ensure EAHRC attained optimal staffing levels "sufficient to enable it to deliver on its mandate".

Priority should be given to the recruitment of the executive director. The post has been vacant for some time.

The Eala Accounts Committee also called for the amendment of the protocol that established the health body.

The current protocol was put in place in 2007, but according to the MPs, it has been overtaken by time and events, while others have "become impossible to implement".

EAHRC was established in 2007 and sometimes operated from the EASC headquarters in Arusha before relocating to Burundi in 2016.

It is the principal advisory institution to the EAC on health research and development and the generation of health technological knowledge.