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The Global Occupational Health Network GOHNET The Global Occupational Health Network ISSUE No. 5SUMMER 2003 GOHNETGOHNET GOHNET NEWSLETTER The Occupational Health Dear GOHNET members and future members, Programme of WHO This is a special issue written to inform you about the ILO/WHO Joint Committee on Occupational Health, as well as some ongoing activities. Headquarters The Committee first met in 1950 and will meet again from 2-5 December Dr Gerry Eijkemans ([email protected]) in Geneva at the ILO headquarters office. Occupational Health Programme At the WHO 89th Session of the Executive Board in 1992, Dr Nakajima, WHO headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland then Director-General of WHO, underlined the fact that ‘over the years, Background WHO has given insufficient attention to the diseases affecting the entire spectrum of the working population‘– from working children, to Working conditions, for the majority of the three billion workers adolescents, adults and the working elderly’. worldwide, do not meet the minimum standards and guidelines In 1995, the ILO/WHO Joint Committee on Occupational Health met set by the World Health Organization and the International and developed a consensus statement on occupational health. It reads as Labour Organization (ILO) for occupational health, safety and follows: ‘The main focus in occupational health is on three different social protection. Throughout the world, poor occupational objectives: (i) the maintenance and promotion of workers’ health and health and safety leads to two million work-related deaths, 271 working capacity; (II) the improvement of working environment and work million injuries and 160 million occupational diseases per year1. to become conducive to safety and health; and (iii) the development of work organization and working cultures is intended in this context to mean The majority of the world’s workforce does not have access to a reflection of the essential value systems adopted by the undertaking occupational health services; only 10-15 % of the total global concerned. Such a culture is reflected in practice in the managerial systems, workforce has access to some kind of occupational health services. personnel policy, principles for participation, training policies and quality The main problem of the absence of occupational health services management of the undertaking’. is the continuous presence of hazards in the workplace, such as The Committee found, that with respect to the areas for specific urgent noise, toxic chemicals, and dangerous machinery, leading to a collaboration identified at the 11th and prior session, there had been little huge burden of death, disability and disease. Also, psychosocial real progress achieved in many countries. Accordingly, the Committee risk factors at work such as stress and violence have become a requested more specific reporting directly addressing the identified urgent areas of collaboration at its subsequent meetings. Then, international major issue in developed countries and are of growing concern collaboration, co-operation and co-ordination were stressed as the keys to in the developing countries and countries in transition. An success in occupational health, and this has not changed to this day. It was additional problem is the massive inclusion of children in the mentioned that intensified areas of co-operation should be identified and workforce, completely unprotected. that the basic principle of the ILO/WHO collaboration should be a 1ILO, 2002 ‘common goal and complementary strategy’. The agenda of the next Joint Committee meeting foresees the development IN THIS ISSUE: of joint work plans and co-ordination of strategies at global level between ILO and WHO; discussions about occupational management systems and The Occupational Health Programme of WHO Headquarters 1 the complementary roles of Ministries of Health and Labour. Selected topics include the African Joint Effort, silicosis, national OHS profiles and An example of co-operation with the private sector 3 control banding. The ILO/WHO Global Programme on Elimination of Silicosis 3 In this Newsletter, you will find a selection of articles about related activities The WHO/ILO Joint Effort on Occupational Health and Safety in priority areas. International collaboration is the major theme and in Africa 5 contributors have delivered concrete examples. In addition, we will present the Occupational Health Programme at WHO Headquarters. An example of successful pilot training courses in South Africa on Airborne Dust 6 For general comments, questions and future contributions you may contact An example of a successful pilot training course the editor: in Arusha on Pesticides 8 Control Banding – Practical Tools for Controlling Evelyn Kortum-Margot ([email protected]) Exposure to Chemicals 9 Occupational & Environmental Health Programme Department of Protection of the Human Environment The Compendium of Activities of the WHO Network WHO/OMS of Collaborating Centres in Occupational Health 10 20 Avenue Appia; CH - 1211 Geneva 27 The Editor’s Book Tips 10 Fax: +41.22.791 13 83 WHO Contacts 11 GOHNET Member Application Form 12 T h e G l o b a l O c c u p a t i o n a l H e a l t h N e t w o r k 1 The WHO Occupational Health Programme the personnel of national and city health departments have been cut, weakening public health programmes including occupational The framework for WHO’s Occupational Health (OCH) health, and health services; there is a drastic shortage of high- Programme is’The Global Strategy on Occupational Health for All, level or specialized professional expertise of all kinds in most which was approved by the World Health Assembly in 1996. countries. This situation is deteriorating due to the HIV/AIDS The main priority areas are: strengthening of international and pandemic. national policies for health at work; promotion of a healthy work environment, healthy work practices, and health at work; WHO’s strategic directions and activities strengthening of occupational health services; establishment of Within the framework of the Global Strategy, some of the appropriate support services for occupational health; activities that the WHO, with its network of collaborating centres development of occupational health standards based on scientific is carrying out are: risk assessment; development of human resources; establishment of registration and data systems and information support and ■ Through the Regional Offices, countries are encouraged strengthening of research. to adopt national strategies for occupational health and safety that set priorities and targets, such as reduction of Implementation of the strategy is a task of the OCH Programme “high incidence” or “high severity” risks; effective in the WHO Headquarters, the six WHO Regional Offices, and prevention of disease and injury; elimination of hazards at the Network of over 70 WHO Collaborating Centres (CCs) in the design stage, and improved capacity of business Occupational Health. The network members support each other; operators and workers to manage occupational health and the synergy that is created is much larger than the sum of safety individual centres and activities. The CCs are organized in 15 Task Forces to carry out a four-year Work Plan 2002-2005 ■ Building strategic alliances with partners in the countries consisting of at least 130 funded projects. The Work Plan is and regions (ministries of health, labour, mining, workers periodically updated and the progress is under constant and employer Organization, universities, Egos) and build evaluation. Projects focus on various priority areas in occupational in-house (WHO) alliances with programmes such as Stop health and result in products, which range from documents TB, HIV/AIDS, injury prevention, gender, mental health, and brochures in different languages, to training courses for child health and to mainstream, from different angles, occupational health personnel and/or students, to the occupational health in the health agenda establishment of questionnaires, guidelines and increased ■ Supporting the inclusion of occupational health on national international collaboration and direct action at national and and regional development agendas and mobilizing resources regional level, improving the workplaces and reducing hazards. for occupational health with different partners (for example, One of the priorities of the WHO OCH Programme is to explore collaboration with corporate sector) strengthen collaboration with ILO to avoid duplication and to ■ Promote (applied) research (e.g. global burden of supplement each other. The ILO-WHO Joint Committee on occupational disease, cost-effectiveness of health and safety Occupational Safety and Health, created in 1948, identified for interventions in the workplace, hazardous child labour) and its 12th Session, to be held in December 2003 the main areas of facilitate the exchange of positive experiences on intensified joint activity. These include the joint programme occupational risk assessment and improving working including the global elimination of silicosis; OSH Management conditions systems and promotion of training, education and competence ■ Facilitate training and capacity building on occupational assurance. Important new areas of co-operation include the health, involving the collaborating centres and other African Joint Effort, Control Banding (practical tools for partners in the field controlling exposure to chemicals) and the development of national profiles on occupational health. ■ Support countries in improving data collection and surveillance
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