PRESS RELEASE

07 Aug 2012 - 09 Aug 2012

On 07-09 August 2012 the regular Contact Group Meeting (CGM) within the framework of implementation of the project “Bio-safety and Bio-security Improvement at the Ukrainian Anti-Plague Station in Simferopol” (STCU projects 9800-9804) was held in Sevastopol, Crimea. The CGM round-table discussion of the project progress and problems joined the following participants: Mr. J. Galabru, Expert of European Commission DG DEVCO; the specialists of the Ukrainian Anti-Plague Station (UAPS) headed by the Director Prof. A. Khaytovich; the project technical experts from the Military Institute of Hygiene & Epidemiology (MIHE, Poland) - Director Col. J. Kocik and Specialist Maj. A. Michalski; Mr. S. Cognat, Team Leader Health Laboratory Strengthening, World Health Organization (WHO); Mr. S.B. Lepik, Chief State Sanitary Doctor of Crimea Basin SES, Mr. G.V. Kravec, Deputy Chief State Sanitary Doctor on Water Transport of Ukraine, STCU DED (EU) Mr. M. Zayet, STCU Senior Specialist Dr. V. Pashynska and STCU Assistant to DED EU Ms. O. Panchenko.
In the framework of the discussion the representatives of the project stakeholders noted significant progress in the project implementation from the time of previous CGM: the tender on selection of vendor of service of the securing existing UAPS facility has been performed and the contract with the vendor has been signed, the planned renovation works to secure existing UAPS facility has been started and carrying out actively; the technical-economical plan of the new UAPS facility has been developed and presented; the first round of long-term trainings of UAPS staff in biosafety has been successfully performed on the basis of MIHE (Poland), etc.
The special session of the CGM (09.08.12) have been devoted to the summarizing of the preceding discussions of the Ukrainian and EU experts on the development of the Conceptual (functional) Design of the new UAPS facility which is planned to be constructed in the framework of the EU-funded STCU projects 9801 and 9802. The final variant of the scheme of the Conceptual Design of the new UAPS facility has been presented and discussed.
On 08 of August the CGM participants had the visit to the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Station of Crimea Dasin where the special session has been organized to discuss the implementation of International Health Regulations in Ukrainian sanitary-epidemiological institutions and following cooperation the institutions with WHO and EC in the area.