The Joint Action EU HEALTHY GATEWAYS is funded by the European Union under the Third Health Programme (2014-2020) and specifically falls under thematic priority 2.2 of Annex I of the 2017 Annual Work Programme.
The Joint Action aims at facilitating European Union Member States (EU MS) on the implementation of requirements of Article 4, on preparedness and response planning of Decision No 1082/2013/EU, by preparing the competent authorities and the transport sector for immediate and adequate response to serious cross-border threats to health.
The general objective of the Joint Action is to support cooperation and coordination between EU MS in order to improve their capacities at points of entry (PoE) – including ports, airports and ground crossings – in preventing and combating cross-border health threats affecting or inherently coming from the transport sector, and therefore contributing to a high level of public health protection in the European Union (EU).
In the case of public health emergencies of international concern (PHEIC), the Joint Action will move from the inter-epidemic mode to an emergency mode, with the objective to support the coherent response of EU MS according to Decision No 1082/2013/EU and implementation of temporary recommendations issued by the WHO according to the International Health Regulations (IHR).
The tasks to be executed for fulfilment of Joint Action milestones and deliverables have been divided among nine (9) Work Packages, described in Table 1. Figure 1 demonstrates a breakdown into 4 horizontal and 5 core Work Packages.
Table 1: Description of Joint Action work packages
|
Work Package Number
|
Work Package Title
(leader/co-leader)
|
Work Package Description
|
|
1
|
Management of the action (UTH)
|
Actions undertaken to manage the action and to make sure that it is implemented as planned
|
|
2
|
Dissemination
(NIJZ)
|
Actions undertaken to ensure that the results and deliverables of the action will be made available to the target groups
|
|
3
|
Evaluation of the action (MINSAL)
|
Actions undertaken to verify if the project is being implemented as planned and reaches the objectives
|
|
4
|
Integration in National Policies and Sustainability
(UKE)
|
Actions undertaken to foster take-up of the results by the EU countries
|
|
5
|
Ground crossings
(NIPH-NIH & NVSC)
|
Actions for preparedness at ground crossings and the land transport sector
|
|
6
|
Air transport
(UKE & FOHM)
|
Actions for preparedness at airports and the air transport sector
|
|
7
|
Maritime transport
(UTH)
|
Actions for preparedness at ports and the maritime transport sector
|
|
8
|
Chemical threats
(DH & NIJZ)
|
Actions for preparedness in relation to chemical threats at points of entry
|
|
9
|
Capacity building - Training (RIVM)
|
Actions for capacity building including training at points of entry
|
