The ICAO EUR/NAT and MID Regional Offices jointly organized the 10th interregional CAPSCA EUR-MID meeting in Bahrain on 14 and 15 February 2023 and on the following day, the Aviation Medicine Workshop. Both events were graciously hosted by the Kingdom of Bahrain and supported by the Bahrain Airport Company and CAA.
The CAPSCA/10 meeting was organized in coordination with WHO EURO and WHO EMRO and was actively supported by FAA and EASA. This event gathered about 81 participants from 29 States and 5 International Organizations. High-level dignitaries from both the Bahrain Ministry of Public Health and Ministry of Transport, ICAO EUR/NAT and MID Regional Directors and the Chief of the Aviation Medicine Section at the ICAO Air Navigation Bureau, also attended the meeting.
The meeting addressed among others:
- Lessons learned from the COVID-19 crisis and way forward;
- Next ICAO steps for crisis management including Public Health events of international concern as mandated by A41;
- The new ICAO-WHO MoU, annual working plan and CAPSCA's role;
- Information sharing on a number of technical issues, including the new strategies and guidelines for waste water treatment in airports; and
- Review of the implementation of the PHC iPack and plan for future implementation activities.
During the Aviation Medical Workshop on 16 February 2023, a number of technical issues relevant to Aeronautical Medical Examiners were presented and discussed.
It was agreed that the successful and mutually benefitting practice of organizing interregional CAPSCA meetings should continue. The next joint EUR-MID CAPSCA/11 meeting is already planned for February 2024 in Paris.
