Sri Lanka hosts 7th CAPSCA-AP regional meeting this week
Monday, 19 May 2014 00:00
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The 7th regional meeting of the Collaborative Arrangement for the Prevention and management of public health events in Civil Aviation (CAPSCA-AP) will be held for the first time in Sri Lanka from 20 to 23 May 2014 at Colombo Hilton under the aegis the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka.
Coordinating the international aviation response to public health risks, such as pandemics, is a key role for the International Civil Aviation Organisation. By means of CAPSCA (Collaborative Arrangement for the Prevention and management of public health events in Civil Aviation) international, regional, national and local organisations are brought together to combine efforts and develop a coordinated approach.
The 7th CAPSCA-AP meeting aims to build upon this success by bringing together, aviation and public health sector stakeholders, to facilitate further collaboration to mitigate the risks from public health emergencies that affect the aviation sector.
Main achievements of CAPSCA in the Asia Pacific (and other) regions have been the development and implementation of relevant ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) and associated guidance material and implementing relevant aspects of World Health Organisation International Health Regulations (2005), the development of a process for auditing States on the implementation of the Public Health Event Standard and Recommended Practices which commenced in 2013, the development of public health/aviation networks at a global, regional, State and operational level, and the acceptance by many in the aviation and public health communities that public health emergency preparedness in the aviation sector is worthy of more attention than it was given previously.
In addition to providing seminars and workshops on preparedness planning in the aviation sector, CAPSCA also arranges ‘assistance visits’ (AV) to States and their international airports. These visits by a team of aviation and public health experts (called Technical Advisors) facilitate local training for aviation and public health officers and improvements/developments of preparedness plans.
The 7th CAPSCA-AP meeting will also address experiences, methodology and guidelines for CAPSCA State and airport assistance visits as well as measures to strengthen communications and coordination between public health institutions and the aviation sector.
Sri Lanka maintaining a very good standard in Aviation Safety compared with some other countries since modern aviation history began in 1912, when the first aircraft completed a successful flight from Sri Lankan soil. Keeping with this success the need of proper management of Public Health Events in air transport was given priority under the leadership of Ministry of Civil Aviation Secretary Dr. Ravindra Ruberu in 2012.
As the air traffic through our country has tremendously increased in the recent past, risk of rapid dissemination of communicable diseases and Public Health Events are more likely which may affect the National economy. Then after several communications between ICAO and Ministry of Civil Aviation, Sri Lanka obtained the membership of the CAPSCA project in December 2012. Since then we have come a long way by developing National Civil aviation Plan for Prevention of Public Health Emergencies through air travel, which will be launched by Minister of Civil Aviation Priyankara Jayaratna on 20 May 2014 at the Opening ceremony of the 7th CAPSCA-AP meeting.
