WeCAPS

Improving Port Security & Safety in West and Central Africa (WeCAPS COVID-19 - Response Phases 1 & 2)

Launched in January 2019, WeCAPS (Improving Port Security in West and Central Africa) is the most recent project of the CMR Programme (Critical Maritime Routes) a European programme to secure maritime transport. WeCAPS intends to help partner countries in West and Central Africa to adequately address increasing vulnerabilities related to port security.

The objectives of the projects are threefold:

• strengthened compliance with International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS)-standards;

• increased preparedness and resilience to risks through detection and handling of illicit or dangerous goods, substances and activities, and;

• increased resilience when a crisis event occurs (attack, explosion, spill etc.).

WeCAPS intends to bring together the different national authorities active in the field of port handling and to increase their capacity in, analysis and response, while considering the cooperation with the private actors active in the field of port security.

WeCAPS COVID-19 Response - Phase 1:

The terms of reference initially focused on expertise and training were revised by the WeCAPS project team and validated by the European Commission in order to meet the needs of partner countries in the COVID-19 response. The WeCAPS project team led by Expertise France came up with proposals to react on the protective equipment component for the COVID-19 response. Besides the equipment, a Learning Management System (LMS) was provided with best practices from the French firefighters in response to COVID-19. The success of phase 1 COVID-19 response testifies to the proactivity of the teams and their ability to reconfigure themselves in the context of a pandemic.

WeCAPS COVID-19 Response - Phase 2:

The WeCAPS COVID-19 Response - Phase 2 consisted of providing a methodology in 8 axes with the objective to strengthen the resilience of the Ports in West / Central Africa against the pandemic. The illustration of the vulnerability analysis contains notional data and is for information only. Key reference documents, dashboard of the tests available on the market for diagnostics (French Ministry of Health), and a diagnostic strategy were included in the WeCAPS COVID-19 Response - Phase 2 methodology.