Based in Nairobi, Kenya, the Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa awards grants and develops programs in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Sudan, and works with regional organizations whose mandate encompasses eastern Africa.
The initiative pursues projects to promote greater civil society interaction with African Union programs, such as the New Partnership for Africa's Development. To support ongoing international justice investigations in Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, and Uganda, the initiative works to increase awareness and information about international criminal justice in east Africa.
In Kenya, the initiative is conducting a four-year program to track implementation of Kenya's mediation accord following the post-election violence of 2008, empowering community groups to monitor the use of public funds, promoting the passage and implementation of freedom of information laws in the region, protecting human rights defenders under threat, and promoting human rights in health care policy. In oil-rich countries like Sudan and Uganda, the initiative has focused on helping environmental governance groups participate in policymaking regarding government management and use of oil and other natural resources.