EU HEALTHY GATEWAYS JOINT ACTION PREPAREDNESS AND ACTION AT POINTS OF ENTRY (PORTS, AIRPORTS, GROUND CROSSINGS)

Newsletters

Newsletters issued

The EU HEALTHY GATEWAYS Joint Action publishes a bimonthly e-newsletter starting October 2018.

The Newsletter includes update information regarding the joint action activities and articles on the subjects of preparedness and action of the maritime, air and ground sectors.


Editor:

(Issues 1, 2) Dr.med Martin Dirksen-Fischer, Hamburg Port Health Center, Germany

(Issues 3, 4, 5) Dr Peter Otorepec, National Institute of Public Health, Slovenia

(Issues 6, 7, 8, 9) Dr Mauro Dionisio, Ministry of Health, Italy

(Issues 10,11,12) Dr Janus Janiec, National Institute of Public Health - National Institute of Hygiene
Department of Epidemiology, Poland

(Issues 13,14,15) Dr. Robertas Petraitis, Director of National Public Health Centre under the Ministry of Health, Lithuania

Editorial Board:

Name/Surname

Authority

Country

Prof. Christos Hadjichristodoulou

Laboratory of Hygiene and Epidemiology, University of Thessaly

Greece

Dr. Miguel Dávila-Cornejo

Ministry of Health, Consumption and Social Welfare

Spain

Dr. Mauro Dionisio

Ministry of Health

Italy

Univ.-Professor. Dr.med Volker Harth
(MPH)

Institute for Occupational and Maritime Medicine (ZfAM)

Germany

Dr. Robertas Petraitis

National Public Health Centre under the Ministry of Health

Lithuania

Dr Nina Pirnat

National Institute of Public Health

Slovenia

Dr Peter Otorepec

National Institute of Public Health

Slovenia

Dr Janus Janiec

National Institute of Public Health - National Institute of Hygiene
Department of Epidemiology

Poland

Mrs Eirian Thomas

Public Health England

UK

 

 

 

 

 






















 

 

 

Section Editors

Thematic Section

Section Editor

Authority

Country

Air transport

Jan Heidrich

Hamburg Port Health Center

Germany

Chemical Threats

Tom Gaulton

Public Health England

UK

Ground -Crossings

Brigita Kairiene

National Institute of Public Health

Lithuania

Maritime transport

Barbara Mouchtouri

Laboratory of Hygiene and Epidemiology, University of Thessaly

Greece

Training

Corien Swaan

National Institute of Public Health and the Environment

Netherlands



Content Manager/Secretariat:
Mrs Elina Kostara, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece



Publisher:
University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece - EU HEALTHY GATEWAYS Joint Action  

 

Register here if you want to receive the Newsletter and our updates on issues related to preparedness and action at Points Of Entry (Ports, Airports, Ground Crossings) with acronym EU HEALTHY GATEWAYS.

NEWSLETTER Issue 5 – August 2019

August 2019

15 September 2019/Categories: Newsletters

Rate this article:
No rating

Dear readers,

Summer is over and we will soon meet in Belgrade, Serbia on the next training of the trainers’ - course on Preparedness and Response to public health events at airport (September 2019). Next to it we will organize also Workshop for chemical threats at Points of Entry. Moreover, there will be soon a sustainability visit and regional high-level policy officers meeting in Rome, Italy (November 2019). Next to it there will be a conference “Cross-border health safety: The Joint Action HEALTHY GATEWAYS”.

In this issue, the coordinator of the joint action informs us about an important achievement for our joint action: throughout the summer the General Assembly of the joint action, comprised by EUMS competent authorities, approved to publish a list of ships inspected and the ships that received grade “A” during the inspection.

In the thematic section Barbara Mouchtouri, Leader of Work Package 7-Maritime transport, talks about European Inspection Programme for passenger ships – Inspection grading system. Additionally, the team from Poland and Lithuania explain us some facts about ground crossing, which are important for public health. They identified more than 100 ground-crossings (roads and railways) with external European Union countries. In this issue, Jan Heidrich introduce us also activities from the air transport sector: PANDEMIC19 exercise, which focused on coordination and communication of the European response in case of a pandemic crisis; 7th European Meeting of the Collaborative Arrangement for the Prevention and Management of Public Health Events in Civil Aviation (CAPSCA-EUR/07).

I would like to point out also few important events that happened in the last period: JA Healthy Gateways 1st General Assembly in June 2019 in Hamburg, and Training course on Preparedness and response to public health events at ports & performing ship inspection in August in Taiwan CDC. In August we organized also 2nd webinar on Preparedness at Points of Entry, this time it focused on airports.

I would like to draw your attention also to the Global Pilot Testing of the WHO Handbook for IHR Public Health Capacity Building and Cross-Border Collaboration at Ground Crossings, which was organized in July 2019 in Beirut, Lebanon and where also the coordinator of EU HEALTHY GATEWAYS joint action was present.

Last but not least, we are pleased to introduce you Rimantas Pilipavičius from Lithuania and the "Cristoforo Colombo" International Airport in Genoa, Italy.

Enjoy reading the newsletters with many interesting topics. As this is my last editorial, I would like to thank to everyone who helped by preparing last three issues.  I wish you a successful continuation of the project and all the best to all of you! 

 

Peter Otorepec

 

 

News from the consortium

Prof. Christos Hadjichristodoulou

EU HEALTHY GATEWAYS Joint Action Coordinator, Professor of Hygiene and Epidemiology,

Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Medical Faculty, University of Thessaly, Greece

 

The consortium of the EU HEALTH GATEWAYS joint action even throughout the summer holidays remained busy in moving forward with all tasks and representing the joint action in important meetings.

An important achievement of the joint action comes from the maritime sector and is the approval of the General Assembly of the joint action, comprised by EUMS competent authorities, to publish a list of ships inspected and the ships that received grade “A” during the inspection. Moreover, the shipping companies will now receive a 24 hours’ notice prior to the inspection either from the competent authority or the work package 7 administration team instead of a 48hr notice.

The consortium during the summer months was preparing two important events; a Training of the trainers’ course on Preparedness and response to public health events at airports and a sustainability site visit and regional high-level policy officers meeting.

  • The Training of the trainers’ course on Preparedness and response to public health events at airports was held from 18th to 20th September 2019 in Belgrade, Serbia. A total of 44 participants have been nominated to participate; 38 from 21 European countries and 6 from four non-EU countries. The purpose of the training of the trainers’ programme is to increase competence and capacity for managing public health events in air transport including risk assessment, decision-making and crisis communication. The training course addressed issues of decision making for implementing evidence based health measures proportionate to the health risks. The event was organised by the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE)-Institute for Occupational and Maritime Medicine, Germany, the Public Health Agency of Sweden (FOHM), Sweden in collaboration with the University of Thessaly – Laboratory of Hygiene and Epidemiology (UTH), Greece and the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Netherlands.  A detailed description of the event will follow in the next Issue. Moreover, two side events were organised during the training of the trainers course:  a Consensus meeting for the Competency profile for professionals involved in infectious disease control at airports was organised by RIVM, Netherlands and a Workshop for chemical threats at Points of Entry organised by the Public Health England (PHE), UK and the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ), Slovenia.
  • The sustainability site visit and regional high-level policy officers meeting will be held on Tuesday 26th November 2019 in Rome, Italy. This meeting will be held back-to-back with a national Italian dissemination day conference “Cross-border health safety: the Joint Action HEALTHY GATEWAYS” being organized by the Istituto Superiore di Sanita and Minstero della Salute on 25th November 2019. The aim of this meeting is to invite Joint Action partners and high-level policy officers (e.g. from national Ministries of Health and Ministries of Transport) from the following countries: Italy (local organizers), Germany (Leaders of WP 4: Sustainability), Belgium, Greece, Slovenia, Spain and The Netherlands to discuss sustainability and integration of EU HEALTHY GATEWAYS activities at national-level, particularly activities under the framework of the maritime transport work package. 
     

What’s new on the web portal

Visit the web portal by clicking on the link below: www.healthygateways.eu     

List of passenger ships inspected and graded with “A” grade

You can now see the ships inspected according to the annual schedule that is prepared by the competent authorities in EU conducting the inspections, in collaboration with the work package 7 administration team of the EU HEALTHY GATEWAYS joint action. Click here for further information and to read about the ships inspected and ships that received grade “A”.

Follow us on Social Media of the joint action

 

- EU HEALTHY GATEWAYS Joint Action

Twitter

YouTube

LinkedIn

ResearchGate

 

 

 

Thematic Sections

 

European Inspection Programme for passenger ships – Inspection grading system

Barbara Mouchtouri, Leader of Work Package 7-Maritime transport

 

In the framework of work package 7 of the EU HEALTHY GATEWAYS joint action, inspections on passenger ships are conducted by inspectors working at the competent authorities of EU Member States, following the procedures described in the European Manual for Hygiene Standards and Communicable Disease Surveillance on Passenger Ships and in Deliverables 1 and 6 of the EU SHIPSAN ACT joint action (www.shipsan.eu), as updated during the EU HEALTHY GATEWAYS joint action.

A common inspection schedule based on target factors (considering historical inspection results and giving priority to ferries and inland navigation vessels) at an EU level is composed annually and agreed to by all participating authorities, to avoid duplicate inspections in the EU ports.

Shipping companies receive a 24 hours’ notice prior to the inspection either from the competent authority or the work package 7 administration team. 

The inspection team consists of one or more inspectors fulfilling the criteria and conducting an inspection according to the European Manual for Hygiene Standards and Communicable Disease Surveillance on Passenger Ships. The inspection team may be supported by observers or technical experts, depending on availability and resources. 

Inspection team prepares the inspection report where inspection findings and corrective actions are included and based on these findings, each inspection receives a letter grade “A”, “B”, “C”, or “D”.

The grading system was introduced with the purpose to both encourage compliance with EU health and hygiene standards, and to inform the public about the level of hygiene standards on board cruise ships and ferries. The overall objective is to contribute to a high level of public health protection in the European Union. Up to now, 18 inspection grades of seagoing and inland cruise ships and ferries have been published on the website of the joint action.

 

The grading system methodology  

An inspection grading system methodology was designed and pilot tested, and is applied as of June 2019. The European Manual for Hygiene Standards and Communicable Disease Surveillance on Passenger Ships consists of 526 items, which describe the inspection standards. Each item in the Manual has been given points (1-5) based on a risk analysis method. When an inspection is conducted on board a passenger ship according to the Manual, inspectors check compliance with the standards of this Manual. Inspectors may decide to give points in the inspection findings of non-compliance. As of June 2019, the inspection results are graded with a letter grade “A”, “B”, “C”, or “D”.  The letter grade corresponds to the total sum of the points given to the inspection findings. The higher the point score, the lower the inspection will be graded.
 

Click here for further information about the European Inspection Programme for Ships

Click here for further information and to view the list of passenger ships inspected and graded with “A” grade.

 

Some facts about ground crossing - Importance for public health

Janiec Janusz1, Robertas Petraitis2, Brigita Kairiene2, Radosław Izdebski1

 

1 National Public Health Institute, Poland

2 National Public Health Centre under the Ministry of Health, Lithuania

 

Some key facts

European Union has its external border with the Schengen area, as well as the EU's external borders with countries that are not part of the Schengen area. While analyzing different sources, more than 100 ground-crossings (roads and railways) with external European Union countries were identified.

However the biggest passenger traffic worldwide is now through air transport, land borders are still used by many. Based on polish example the volume of passengers crossing the land border is around 75% of all the air traffic in Poland. In 2018, all airports in Poland handled a total of 45.7 million passengers (representing a 14% increase compared to 2017) (Polish Civil Aviation Authority data) and the number of passengers crossing the Polish land border with Russia, Belarus and Ukraine is more than 34 million.

 

Survey about preparedness and response to biological and chemicals threats at ground crossings

In attempt to find out if and how many  cross border events related to public health of biological or chemical origin were noticed or recorded at Points of Entry and to describe the health related core capacities at ground crossings, the leaders of work package 5 “Ground crossings” prepared the questionnaire which was pilot tested at two external European Union ground crossings: Panemune crossing point (Lithuania - Russia) and Debeli Brijeg crossing point (Montenegro – Croatia).

According to the suggestions and comments, which were received during the pilot testing, the questionnaire was adjusted and uploaded in the EU Survey website https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/EUHealthyGateways2019 and will be provided to different stakeholders to fill it.

 

Future developments - New Silk Road

In the coming years the importance of Eastern EU land border may increase with the opportunities that comes with revitalisation of Silk Road from China to Europe. Poland, along with four other countries of Central and Eastern Europe (Serbia, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Slovakia) signed an agreement with China on cooperation in regards to the New Silk Road. The agreement concerned the implementation of the project "One Belt One Road". The Logistics Center in Qingbaijiang is one of the beginnings of the New Silk Road route, reaching the Polish city of Lodz and further running through Poland with branches to Hamburg and Prague. However other alternative routes which reach Europe are being developed.


Source: https://www.osw.waw.pl/pl/publikacje/analizy/2015-12-02/szczyt-chiny-europa-srodkowo-wschodnia-nowa-wizja-wspolpracy-stare


Sources:

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/PL/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52007XC0706(08)&from=PL

https://frontex.europa.eu/along-eu-borders/migratory-routes/eastern-borders-route/

Nowa Polityka Wschodnia 2017, nr 1 (12); R o b e r t J a k i m owi c z, Nowy Jedwabny Szlak a wzrost pozycji krajów Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej wobec Rosji i Chin

 

Activities from the air transport sector

Jan Heidrich, using material from EUROCONTROL PANDEMICS19 report and CAPSCA-EUR/07 summary of discussions
 

1. PANDEMIC19 exercise

Each year the so-called Network Manager (NM) who is in charge of the air traffic flow management in Europe and who is provided by EUROCONTROL, carries out an exercise to enhance preparedness in case of crisis with significant impact on the aviation network. The exercise is organized by the European Aviation Crisis Coordination Cell (EACCC). In previous years, exercises have covered different scenarios. This year’s exercise was entitled PANDEMIC19 and focussed on coordination and communication of the European response in case of a pandemic crisis. The exercise took place at EUROCONTROL, Brussels, on 26-27 February. In total, about 70 persons from different European organisations, WHO, national state focal points, aircraft operators, airports and further expert organizations in the aviation sector participated. JA Healthy Gateways was present as an observer in the exercise. The exercise was conducted as table-top exercise in a workshop-like format. Main objectives were to exercise preparedness in case of a pandemic and to strengthen relationships between health and aviation experts at European as well as national level. The first day focussed on the concrete pandemic exercise scenario while the second day was mainly reserved to discuss lessons learned. At the end, participants felt that the exercise was very useful and that objectives have been well reached.

Further information may be retrieved from: https://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/air/single_european_sky/eaccc_en

 

2. 7th European CAPSCA Meeting

The 7th European Meeting of the Collaborative Arrangement for the Prevention and Management of Public Health Events in Civil Aviation (CAPSCA-EUR/07) was organised by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). For the CAPSCA project, ICAO works in close cooperation with WHO and other UN specialized agencies as well as with industry partners such as, for example, Airports Council International (ACI) or International Air Transport Association (IATA). The meeting was held in Helsinki, Finland, 10 -12 April this year, at the invitation of TRAFICOM, Finnish Transport and Communications Agency, including 86 registered participants from 24 countries and 10 international organizations. The meeting aimed particularly at:

  • developing a clear understanding of the importance concerning the preparedness in the aviation sector of all stakeholders involved, for a public health event,
  • underlining the need for early and coordinated involvement of all stakeholders during a public health emergency,
  • sharing experiences, best practices and lessons learned with respect to disinsection / disinfection guidelines and practices as well as to public health exercises.

The meeting participants discussed the ICAO CAPSCA programme and activities at both global and regional levels as well as activities from WHO, European institutions such as EASA, EUROCONTROL or ECDC, country experiences and experiences from airports (Schiphol, Frankfurt). JA Healthy Gateways reported on the current project status with particular focus on work package 6 – air transport. The meeting agreed a number of conclusions, among others:

  • States are encouraged to join CAPSCA.
  • States and international organizations are encouraged to enhance cooperation and coordination between the relevant international organizations and intergovernmental bodies within the European region to avoid duplication of work and optimize the use of limited resources at both strategic and operational level, including training and capacity building activities.
  • States are encouraged to share best practices and lessons learned from public health emergencies through expert exchanges e.g. on communication issues, developing/testing SOPs/ emergency procedures, disinfection/disinsection practices. ICAO EUR NAT Office will continue to facilitate these activities organizationally and to further organize regional meetings and trainings, as needed.
  • WHO and ICAO are encouraged to continue with collaboration on the review, development and publishing of guidelines and training material for disinsection in aviation. States are encouraged to participate in these activities and share information.
  • ICAO to collaborate with relevant stakeholders in investigating current practices and revising and developing guidelines in relation to obtaining passenger information for contact tracing purposes, having bestpractice standards, information sharing and awareness.

Finally, a new CAPSCA board was elected at the meeting including the following members:

Chair: Johan Skjal (Finland)

Deputy Chair: Matthias Jeglitza (Germany)

Deputy Chair: Maria Joao Martins (Portugal)

Technical Adviser Team Leader East: Sergey Ivashof (IAC)

Technical Adviser Team Leader West: Daisy Ooms (Netherlands)

More information on CAPSCA and ICAO can be found at: www.capsca.org and https://www.icao.int

 


Events

Past Events of the joint action

JA Healthy Gateways 1st General Assembly

Authors: Jan Heidrich, Martin Dirksen-Fischer

The Joint Action Healthy Gateways 1st General Assembly was held on 13 – 14 June 2019 in Hamburg, Germany. A short report on this major JA meeting including 73 participants from 15 countries, international and European organizations as well as from the transport industry was already in the previous newsletter. In this issue, we would like to thank you all, once again, for coming to Hamburg and for your active participation in the meeting. It was a pleasure to have you here!

We would like to use the opportunity to underline that the General Assembly meeting was unique in so far as it was the first time that there were experts from the fields of maritime health but also experts from the field of airports and the field of ground crossings present at the same meeting. The lively discussions that took place made it clear that one of the biggest achievements of the JA Healthy Gateways is this holistic approach. When focusing on the issues of the Hamburg General Assembly, it might make sense to concentrate on the main ideas presented:

  • All working groups from the three fields of transport (maritime, air, ground) presented results of their work. Especially to be mentioned are the different methods of risk assessments that are being developed and which will be further tested in different forms of exercises.
  • A particularly interesting issue is the questions related to “ground crossing”. The attending members of the EU Healthy Gateways network agreed that it is very valuable to take notice of this field and recognized that Lithuania and Poland as work package leaders are doing excellent pioneering work in this field.
  • The same function as work package leaders in the maritime sector is being held by our Greek partners. It is easy to agree that the restless efforts of the leadership in this field also will lead to further landmark achievements, especially in the field of the EU SHIPSAN ACT Information system (SIS). This truly European databank will be introduced in detail later in one of the newsletter to follow.
  • Two other fields within JA Healthy Gateways, namely chemical threats and public health in the aviation field, also presented their status and progress at the meeting as well as there was a lively discussion on the future sustainability of the project after the conclusion of the JA in 2021.

The different outcomes of the meeting may be reported in detail in the following newsletter as the comprehensive meeting report has not yet been finalized. Finally, to illustrate the holistic approach of JA Healthy Gateways, please find the group photo from the meeting below:


Photo: Julia Steinigeweg

 

Training course: Preparedness and response to public health events at ports & performing ship inspection

When: 26 – 28 August 2019 Where: Taiwan CDC

A training course was organised from the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) in collaboration with the EU HEALTHY GATEWAYS joint action and the EU SHIPSAN scientific association

The training methods used for this course included lectures, case studies and a field visit on board of a cruise ship at the port of Keelung where inspection techniques were put into practice.

A total of 27 participants attended the course and 100% declared they were satisfied and 91%  very satisfied with the training activities.

 

Webinar Series on Preparedness at Points of Entry

Preparing and responding to chemical events at Points of Entry: airports, 6th August

The webinar aimed to explain the requirements of International frameworks (IHR, EU Dec 2013/1082) relating to chemicals, to understand what is involved in the public health response to chemical events, the different sources of chemicals at airports, the role of Competent Authorities in the identification, risk assessment and management of chemical incidents at airports, and to help to be familiar with key stakeholders that may be involved in the investigation of a chemical incident at airports.

It covered following topics: IHR core capacities – Chemicals; Management of public health events at airports due to chemicals; Public health response; Risk assessment process; Modelling and mapping; and Case studies – Chemical incidents at airports. Presenters of the webinar were: Dr Tom Gaulton, a Health Protection Scientist in the Chemical and Environmental Effects Department (CEED) at Pubic Health England (PHE), UK; Dr Peter Otorepec, Head of Department at the National Institute of Public Health, Slovenia; Dr. Boris Kopilovic, the Head of Working Group for Infectious Diseases in Unit Koper, Centre for Communicable Diseases at the National Institute of Public Health, Slovenia; Dr. Andreja Kukec, an assistant professor at the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Public Health, and a national expert for public health in National Institute of Public Health and Mrs Eirian Thomas,  Principal Health Protection Scientist in the Chemical and Environmental Effects Department (CEED) at Pubic Health England (PHE), UK.

The webinar was broadcasted live on 6th of August 2019 as part of the EU HEALTHY GATEWAYS joint action webinar series on Preparedness at Points of Entry. A total of 66 participants from 15 EUMS and 4 non-EU countries registered to watch the live or recorded webinar out of which 30 watched the live webinar. Almost all participants were public health officers (environmental health inspectors, Quarantine officers, medical doctors and epidemiologists).

 

Webinars are available for playback viewing

All webinars are recorded and are available for play back viewing.

Visit the website to apply https://www.healthygateways.eu/Core-work-packages/Training

 

 

Forthcoming events of the joint action

Sustainability Site Visit and Regional High-Level Policy Officers Meeting

When: Tuesday, 26th November 2019Where: Rome, Italy

A sustainability site visit and regional high-level policy officers meeting is organised on Tuesday 26th November 2019 in Rome, Italy. This meeting will be held back-to-back with a national Italian dissemination day conference “Cross-border health safety: the Joint Action HEALTHY GATEWAYS” being organized by the Istituto Superiore di Sanita and Minstero della Salute on 25th November 2019.

The aim of this meeting is to invite Joint Action partners and high-level policy officers (e.g. from national Ministries of Health and Ministries of Transport) from the following countries: Italy (local organisers), Germany (Leaders of WP 4: Sustainability), Belgium, Greece, Slovenia, Spain and The Netherlands to discuss sustainability and integration of EU HEALTHY GATEWAYS activities at national-level, particularly activities under the framework of the maritime transport work package. 

 

Other Past Events

Global Pilot Testing of the WHO Handbook for IHR Public Health Capacity Building and Cross-Border Collaboration at Ground Crossings

When: 23-25 July, 2019 Where: Beirut, Lebanon

Α workshop was organized by WHO and WHO EMRO to pilot test the WHO Handbook for IHR Public Health Capacity Building and Cross-Border Collaboration at Ground Crossings. The overall purpose of the pilot testing was to ensure the Handbook is operational and practical for the intended cohorts worldwide.

A total of 40 participants were invited to participate: 

  • 16 participants from  IRAQ, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritania, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria,
  • 2 participants from IOM,
  • 1 participant from EU HEALTHY GATEWAYS joint action,
  • 21 participants representing WHO SECRETARIAT (WHO HQ, WHO EURO, WHO regional offices, WHO country offices).

The EU HEALTHY GATEWAYS joint action coordinator was invited to participate at the Global Pilot Testing of the WHO Handbook for IHR Public Health Capacity Building and Cross-Border Collaboration at Ground Crossings held from 23-25 July, 2019 in Beirut, Lebanon. Mrs Elina Kostara (Technical Officer, University of Thessaly, Greece)  representing the coordinator of the EU HEALTHY GATEWAYS joint action and leaders of Work Package 5-Ground-Crossings participated and presented the  EU HEALTHY GATEWAYS joint action activities in relation to ground-crossings.

 

 

Other Forthcoming Events

EU Health Programme High Level Conference in Brussels

When: 30 September 2019 Where: Brussels, Belgium

The conference will highlight the results of the current and previous EU Health Programmes and present the new approach in the future Multiannual Financial Framework for 2021-2027.F

The event will be hosted by Vytenius Andriukaitis, European Commissioner for Health, and will be organised by the Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency with support by the European Commission Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety.

The EU HEALTHY GATEWAYS joint action will be represented by Prof. Hadjichristodoulou and Dr Barbara Mouchtouri. Prof. Hadjichristodoulou will deliver a presentation titled “Health Preparedness” and Dr Mouchtouri will participate in the poster and stand exhibition where two posters will be displayed and materials from the EU HEALTHY GATEWAYS and SHIPSAN ACT joint actions will be disseminated.

For further details please visit the conference website here.

 

People from the Consortium

Rimantas Pilipavičius



Rimantas Pilipavičius was born in 1953 in Kalvarija, Marijampole district, Lithuania. In 1977 he graduated from Vilnius University Faculty of Medicine as doctor of hygiene and epidemiology and moved to Klaipeda and started to work in the Port Sanitary - Epidemiology Station in the field of ships sanitation. In 1979 Rimantas Pilipavicius became the Head of Sanitation and Hygiene Department in Klaipeda Sanitary Hygiene Station. From 1996 he started the position as Director of Klaipeda Public Health Centre, from April 2016 after the reorganization of public health centres – Director of Klaipeda Department of National Public Health Centre under the Ministry of Health.

Rimantas Pilipavičius was involved in SHIPSAN activities since the start of the project. He was an active partner in different activities like creating OiRA tool for occupational health risks per cargo ship, providing all the necessary information etc. and added his tremendous theoretical and practical knowledge Also, it must be highlighted, that because of the initiative of Rimantas Pilipavičius the SHIPSAN information system was validated in Lithuania and port health authority inspectors must record all issued Ship Sanitation Certificates under the International Health into this system.

In 2013 Rimantas Pilipavičius received award as distinguished Lithuania’s health care system worker, in 2017 he received professor Vladas Kviklys award for implementing EU SHIPSAN ACT Joint Action activities in Lithuania.

 

Points of Entry in Focus

The "Cristoforo Colombo” from the hydrofoil of San Pier d'Arena to the Sestri Ponente airport

Written by Paolo Rosati, Border health Inspector, Italy
 

Genoa and the hydroscale have formed an important junction of international connections between northern Europe

(London and Paris) and the Mediterranean, favored by the ease of interchange with other types of transport: naval, rail

and road but only at the end in the 1930s, it was realized that Genoa needed a real airport for rotated aircraft and in

1937 a project was presented for the construction of an airport just in Sestri Ponente, in the area where it currently

stands but the outbreak of the Second World War set aside the idea and the airport remained in operation only in Ponte Somalia, in the port basin of San Pier d'Arena. In 1955 the British "Eagle Airways" activated a Genoa-Southampton air link with Sunderland seaplanes. Passengers at the hydrofoil were transhipped to the ground with tenders. There were two incidents, with no consequences for the passengers, which damaged two aircraft but signaled the end of hydroscale. In 1954 the construction of a new airport started with the preparation of a rudimentary strip asphalted. In 1960 the first "Heron" of the Genoa-Rome link landed on the provisional runway, then finally in October 1962 the inauguration of the airport with a track of 2,285 meters and a temporary airport set up with squalid prefabricated buildings that hosted personalities as Queen Elizabeth II, on an official visit to Genoa, and the astronaut Michael Collins, back from the Apollo 11 lunar mission.

Finally in 1986 the current airport was inaugurated, added up more modern technologies than those available in 1962.

The "Cristoforo Colombo" International Airport is located on an artificial peninsula facing the Sestri Ponente district. It is equipped with a paved airstrip 2916-meter-long, its proximity to the city centre, the airport is considered a city airport. The airport is the largest in Liguria, with about 1.5 million passengers a year, and connects Genoa with national airports and the main European intercontinental interchanges.

The Genoa airport supports the structures and personnel of the merchant port, together with the manufacturing industries and the exhibition facilities hosting events such as Genoa Boat Show, Euroflora, as well as being an intermodal piece for the cruises and tourism in general (charter and low cost).

The airport has episodes of traffic densification: one of its qualities is certainly its coastal position almost fog-free throughout the year, even if it suffers a lot of autumn and winter due to the strong wind, for this position it must be used as an emergency stopover for direct flights to less favoured airports for this factor.

In 2014, charter flights for P & O cruises were launched, with around 56,000 moving passengers. The service was also confirmed for 2016 with flights from London, Glasgow and Birmingham but in 2017 these flights were cancelled.

Since 2000, with a traffic of 1,063.14 passengers, in 2018 it has reached about one and a half million units, meaning a slow but steady increase in travellers.

Not only increasing passengers, but also growing numbers on the cargo front: in the first 11 months of 2018, freight traffic to and from Genoa Airport registered an increase of 8.4%. Also contributing to the development of the cargo sector is the daily Genoa-Amsterdam flight of KLM, which since 19 November is also open to freight transport. The new service is flanked by those of Air France for Paris, Lufthansa for Monaco and Frankfurt, Alitalia for Rome and British Airways for London Gatwick. Thanks to these connections it is possible to fly the goods from Genoa to the main hubs of the main airlines.

From Genoa Airport it is possible to send any type of goods, from "general cargo" to "special goods".

Special cargo flights such” Antonov 124” take off from Genoa, transporting the rotor of a gas turbine spare parts for a

total of 108 tons, in March it left for Pakistan, while the second, with on board technical material at the beginning of

August had flown from Genoa to the United Arab Emirates.

 

 

 

QUIZ

What links to: Femme Fatale, Paul Erlich, Franz Schubert and The Great Pretender?

 

HINT: Franz Peter Schubert (1797 –1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast oeuvre, including more than 600 secular vocal works (mainly Lieder), seven complete symphonies, sacred music, operas, incidental music and a large body of piano and chamber music. He was born in the Himmelpfortgrund suburb of Vienna, where his father gave him his first violin lessons and his older brother gave him piano lessons. In 1821, Schubert was granted admission to the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde as a performing member, which helped establish his name among the Viennese citizenry. He gave a concert of his own works to critical acclaim in March 1828, the only time he did so in his career. He died eight months later at the age of 31, the cause officially attributed to typhoid fever, but believed by some historians to be syphilis.


By National Institute of Public Health, Slovenia
 

Please send your answers to info@healthygateways.eu

Print

Number of views (2220)

Documents to download