COVID-19 prevention and response training of EAC International Airport staff kicks off at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport

Written on 27 May 2020. Posted in Health

East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 27 May 2020: The EAC Secretariat is enhancing the capacity of staff at the eight international airports in the region on the prevention of and response to the spread of COVID-19 ahead of Partner States resuming their flight schedules. The first training of trainers (TOT)  started yesterday at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya.

Trainings will follow in Mombasa, Juba, Entebbe, Bujumbura, Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro and Kigali. The Civil Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Agency (EAC CASSOA) organises and coordinates the trainings which are implemented by AMREF Flying Doctors. The first training was officially opened by the Deputy Head of Mission and Head of Economic Affairs, at the German Embassy in Nairobi, Thomas Wimmer, and the Director General of the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority and CASSOA Board Chair, Capt. Gilbert M. Kibe.

CASSOA Executive Director Emile Nguza Arao says that “investments at International Airports to strengthen surveillance, building robust early-warning systems and coordinating public health responses go a long way to help prevent, detect, and respond to the COVID–19 outbreak”. The capacity building targets staff from the Civil Aviation Authority, airline operators, port health, animal health, immigration, customs, cargo and baggage, security, airport rescue & firefighters as well as from the Collaborative Arrangement for the Prevention and Management of Public Health Events in Civil Aviation (CAPSCA).

The training composes of two 2-day courses. Each class has 15 participants and meets social distancing requirements. Thus, a total of 240 key airport personnel will be trained as trainers and are expected to spearhead the development and conduction of targeted training sessions for the rest of the airport personnel.

The training implements parts of the EAC Regional COVID-19 Response Plan. It is facilitated by the German Government.

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For more information, please contact:

Simon Peter Owaka
Senior Public Relations Officer
Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department
EAC Secretariat
Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255 768 552087
Email: sowaka [at] eachq.org

About the East African Community Secretariat:

The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of six Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.

The EAC Secretariat is ISO 9001: 2015 Certified

Tags: COVID-19