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.