GOHNET

NEWSLETTER N°26

Inside this issue

News from WHO ................ ..............2

News from WHO collaborating centres and partners .......... .............7

Publications ……………...……... .........12

Upcoming events ............... .............13

Useful WHO links ............... .............14

IMPROVING WORKERS' HEALTH WORLDWIDE: Implementing the WHO Global Plan of Action on Workers' Health

Dear Reader, GOHNET is back! In this issue, we provide you with recent updates from the WHO Worker Health Team, international workshops and projects. We appreciate the special support of CDC NIOSH Global Programme in preparing this issue. We hope you enjoy your reading and we promise to maintain our efforts to deliver GOHNET to you more frequently. WHO Workers’ Health Team

August 2017

New members of the WHO Global Worker’s Health Team

News from WHO

Dr Frank PEGA, a citizen of Germany and New Zealand, holds a

PhD in epidemiology and health economics, with a

specialisation in interventions for healthy environments. He is

a Technical Officer in the WHO Global Programme on

Workers’Health, where he is responsible for workers’ health

metrics and monitoring, estimating burden of disease from

occupational risk factors, and strengthening linkages between

workers’ health and the social determinants of health,

including a programme on the health of workers in the

informal economy.

Dr Shubhendu MUDGAL is from India and holds a MD with

post-graduate specialization in occupational safety, health and

development. He has served as Occupational Health and

Safety Coordinator in WHO Country Ofdfice in Liberia during

Ebola Response in 2015-16 and is now associated with the

WHO as a consultant. His main tasks are developing tools and

building capacities for occupational health and safety of

health workers and responders in acute public health events

and emergencies.

Ms Aubrey MUSNGI-ANOUAR is from the Philippines. She

provides administrative assistance to Workers’ Health and

other teams in the WHO Interventions for Healthy

Environments Unit.

2

Frank Pega

Shubhendu Mudgal

Aubrey Musngi-Anuar

The other members of the WHO Workers’ Health Team are: Dr Ivan D. Ivanov—Team Leader and Dr Evelyn Kortum—

Technical Officer, who has resumed her full time functions on workers’ health after serving for 2 years as President of the

WHO Staff Association Committee.

WHO Workshop on capacity building on occupational safety and health

in outbreaks and public health emergencies in Africa, Johannesburg,

South Africa

News from WHO (cont.)

To enhance capacities of many African countries in

preparedness of their country health systems against

occupational safety and health hazards and risks during

emergencies and outbreaks, an inter-country workshop on

occupational safety and health (OSH) in the preparedness and

response to outbreaks and public health emergencies was

organized in at Johannesburg, South Africa, from 14 to 16

June, 2016. The workshop was organized by World Health

Organization with inputs from the International Labour

Organization, and the WHO collaborating centres for

Occupational Health at the National Institute of Occupational

Health, South Africa, US National Institute of Occupational

Safety and Health and the University of Maryland.

The overall purpose of the workshop was to enable high

priority African countries to organize the protection of safety

and health of emergency responders and health workers in the

case of outbreaks and public health emergencies.

The specific objectives of the workshop included:

to build countries’ capacities for integrating occupational

safety and health in the preparedness and response to

outbreaks and public health emergencies, and

to strengthen the collaboration between national

occupational health programs and the mechanisms for

preparedness and response

to train national public health officers in developing

national programs for occupational safety and health of

health workers and to implement tools for workplace

improvement in healthcare facilities.

The workshop was attended by national public health officers

responsible for occupational safety and health and for outbreak

response from 17 countries (Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso,

Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia, Gambia,

Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania,

Niger, Senegal, Tanzania and Togo), WHO collaborating

centres and research partners from Benin, South Africa,

Tanzania and the United States, as well as WHO and ILO

experts.

The training sessions were conducted by experts from WHO,

ILO and WHO collaborating centres on Occupational Health.

The sessions were interactive and focussed on practical

problems faced by African countries that were discussed

during various training sessions. The sessions on the first two

days covered OSH aspects such as the need for protection of

health and emergency workers in emergencies and outbreaks,

overview of OSH hazards and risks faced in health facilities

and community during outbreaks and other emergencies,

prevention and control strategies and actions etc. The third day

of the workshop focussed on awareness creation among

participants through HealthWISE, the training and capacity

building tool on work improvement in healthcare facilities,

developed jointly by WHO and ILO.

Submitted by: Shubhendu Mudgal

3

Meeting facilitators from WHO: Adrienne Rashford, Nada

Osseiran and Ivan Ivanov

Advancing the Regional CAREX project in Latina America and the Caribbean and the evidence on occupational cancer

News from WHO (cont.)

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)

is the specialized cancer agency of the World Health

Organization. Its mission is to coordinate and conduct research

on the causes of human cancer, the mechanisms of

carcinogenesis, and to develop scientific strategies for cancer

control. IARC’s 50th Anniversary Conference was held on June

7-10 in Lyon, France.

The Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) presented on

the advances of the Regional CAREX project. The project

focuses on creating national occupational carcinogen exposure

matrixes and surveillance systems in the region (objective #4,

2008-2017 WHO Global Plan of Action on Workers’ Health

[WHA 60.26]). A total of seven national CAREX projects

from Latin America and the Caribbean were summarized in the

poster presented by PAHO. Workplace exposures to cancer-

causing agents (solar radiation, diesel exhaust, tobacco smoke,

silica, benzene, pesticides, asbestos, etc.) are pervasive in this

region. This was the first time multi-country results showed

how many workers are exposed, in which industry and at what

levels.

Using the CAREX methodology, data will allow PAHO to

characterize exposed workers, inform the primary prevention

of occupational cancer, and support specific initiatives like the

WHO’s global campaign to eliminate asbestos-related diseases.

The project involves multiple government and academic

organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean with the

support of research and technical expertise from the

Occupational Cancer Research Centre (OCRC), a WHO

Collaborating Centre on Occupational and Environmental

Cancer (CAN-89), and the CAREX Canada project.

The OCRC had a strong presence at the IARC conference

where Dr. Paul Demers and his team led or co-authored ten

posters and four oral presentations, including their

contributions for the poster presented with and by PAHO.

Other presentations (clarify whose presentations) addressed

key issues such as pesticide exposures and lymphatic and

hematopoietic cancers, the burden of cancers attributable to

occupational radon and solar ultraviolet radiation exposures,

and case studies from CAREX Canada’s knowledge translation

programme on preventing occupational and environmental

carcinogen exposures. These projects are relevant to

implementing PAHO’s regional Action Plan and WHO’s

Global Plan of Action on Workers’ Health.

4 4

4

Julietta Rodríguez-Guzmán (L) Paul Demers (R)

Summited by: Julietta Rodriguez , regional advisor on workers’ health, Pan-American Health Organization, WHO Regional Office for the Americas

PAHO’s Workers’ Health Team/ Sustainable Development

and Health Equity Special Program (SDE) published a

progress report on the Regional Action Plan on Workers’

Health from 1999. This work led to update of the America’s

Action Plan on Workers’ Health plan taking into account

the the challenges and changes in the world of work in the

XXI Century, and their impact on workers’ health and

productivity for the regional workforce. (cont)

The plan aims to “strengthen the health sector’s response,

in coordination with other stakeholder sectors, in order to

provide comprehensive workers’ health services, improve

work environments, increase efforts to promote workers’

health, and reduce health inequalities by implementing

updated policies, plans, and regulations”.

To achieve this goal, Member States committed to

“strengthen their technical and institutional capacities;

their initiatives to prevent and control the conditions that

cause occupational injuries, diseases and deaths; and the

promotion of health and wellbeing in the workforce. The

leadership of the health authorities, in harmony and

collaboration with the ministries of labor and other

economic sectors, will make it possible to lay the

groundwork health in all policies, close the inequality gaps

in workers’ health, and improve universal access to health

and universal health coverage for all workers”.

To address the issues highlighted in the situation analyses,

the plan contains “the following strategic lines of action to

support member States , as appropriate, taking into account

their context, needs, and priorities:

Develop and update legislation and technical regulations

on workers’ health (in harmony with ILO Conventions

and WHO recommendations, and promoting national

multi-sectorial approaches).

Identify, evaluate, prevent and control hazardous

conditions and exposures in the workplace (Four

sectors were identified by their critical impact on

workers’ health; and the programs agreed with ILO for

elimination of silicosis, asbestos related diseases,

occupational cancer, mental health mental y workplace

violence, etc. will be pursued).

Increase access to and coverage of health services for

workers (addressing the right to health and ILO’s basic

rights at work).

Promote health, wellbeing and healthy work in the

workplace (advocating for wellbeing and life quality

for productive adults during their life course).

Strengthening diagnostic capacity, information systems,

epidemiological surveillance and research in the field

of occupational diseases, injuries and deaths (trying to

fill the data gap of our region).

These lines of action have specific objectives and goals, all

of which are in harmony with the global policies of WHO

and ILO; and with the Sustainable Development Goals

2030 (particularly SDG-1, SDG-3 and SDG-8). It also

seeks to advance on the construction of information

systems capable of recording all damages caused to

workers’ health, the inequities they face, and some positive

indicators including workers’ satisfaction, motivation and

productivity.

At country level, PAHO and WHO are jointly working with

Member States to build Workers’ health national outlooks,

that will determine the baseline of the situation of workers’

health. Based on their results, countries will be able to

design and implement National Action Plans on workers’

health.

PAHO’s Workers’ health team as part of the Special

Program on Sustainable Development and Health Equity

provides technical assistance and all the support necessary

so that Members States can achieve their mission of

safeguarding workers lives, Health and wellbeing, and

5

Summited by: Julietta Rodriguez , regional advisor on workers’ health, Pan-American Health Organization, WHO Regional Office for the Americas

The America’s Action Plan on Workers’ Health 2015-2025

News from WHO (cont.)

Scaling Up Workers’ Coverage with Essential Interventions and Basic Occupational Health Services in Asia

News from WHO (cont.)

The 60th World Health Assembly in 2007 adopted Resolution

WHA 60.26 “Workers’ Health: Global Plan of Action” and

urged the Member States to work towards full coverage of all

workers, and particularly farmers, migrants, and workers in

small enterprises and informal sector to essential interventions

and basic health services for the prevention and control of

occupational and work-related diseases and injuries. The ILO

Convention No. 161 on Occupational Health Services also calls

for the organization of occupational health services for all

working people in the world. However, according to the

International Commission on Occupational Health more than

80% workers worldwide do not have access to occupational

health services.

Thailand has accumulated a wealth of experience in organizing

the provision of essential interventions for occupational health

to farmers and workers in the informal sector through the

network of primary care units, including capacity building,

working tools and methods and supervision. Other developing

countries in Asia, such as Viet Nam, China, Sri Lanka and

Indonesia have also embarked on reforming their occupational

health and primary care services to reach out to uncovered

workers in the informal sector and small enterprises.

The purpose of this workshop, held in Bangkok 29 August-1

September 2017, was to contribute to scaling up the coverage

of workers with essential interventions and basic health

services for occupational health protection in Asian countries.

The particular objectives were:

to review progress made and countries’ experience in

providing workers, particularly in farms, informal sector,

small enterprises and migrants with essential occupational

health interventions and basic services,

to develop recommendations for scaling up coverage of

workers with essential interventions and basic

occupational health services for prevention and control of

occupational and work-related diseases and injuries in

countries.

The participants were national experts from Asian emerging

economy countries dealing with planning and delivery of

occupational health and primary care services and experts from

relevant international organizations and WHO collaborating

centres for occupational health.

Dr. Amnuay Gajeena, Director General of Department of

Disease Control, Thailand, convened and chaired the meeting

of over 30 participants from 10 countries. Participants

included representatives from ministries of health and labor.

Highlights from the meeting included a presentations from

Suwit Wibulpolprasert, Public Health Specialist, Thailand

Ministry of Public Health on universal coverage and the need

for “advocates” from civil society and “enablers” from

government agencies; Dr Somkiat Siriruttananpruek from

Thailand described their project for providing occupational

health services through primary care units; and each country

presented on their activities, progress, and needs with

particular consideration for informal work and scaling up

workers’ health. The final highlight of the meeting was a visit

to two PCUs in Suphanburi Province and in Samuthprakarn

Province, that primarily serve agricultural communities. The

PCUs had staff with expertise in workplace health and

provided a clear vision for the importance of how work relates

to health.

The meeting recommended strategic actions by WHO and the

health systems to further protect and promote health of

working people in the context of the Sustainable Development

Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG1 on poverty elimination,

SDG 3 on health and wellbeing, SDG 8 on decent work and

economic growth and SDG 13 on climate change.

Submitted by: Leslie Nickels, NIOSH

6

News from WHO collaborating centres and partners

Coordination group of the global network of WHO collaborating

centres for occupational health

In 2016 WHO published the document “Global network of

WHO collaborating centres for

occupational health: Ways of Working” to provide guidance on

the mission, composition,

meetings, coordination and collaborative workplace of the

network. This document is part of an effort to maintain and

strengthen the network of collaborating centres for

occupational health (CCs). The Ways of Working document

specifies that NIOSH, along with the WHO Global Workers’

Programme, coordinate the Global network of WHO

collaborating centres for occupational health. As part of this

coordination effort, In September of 2017 NIOSH hosted the

first meeting of the Coordination Group, representatives from

CCs responsible for coordination of the priority areas and the

WHO responsible officers, in Washington, D.C.

During this meeting members of the coordination group

discussed the implementation and evaluation of the priority

areas outlined in the Global Plan of Action on Workers' Health,

2008-2017.

The coordination group also discussed effective mechanisms

for engaging and informing CCs of new, tools and information.

This newsletter is a platform for this information and NIOSH is

pleased to serve as the guest editor and looking forward to

coordinating and promoting future engagement opportunities.

NIOSH applauds WHO for its commitment to improving

worker health around the globe, establishing the Coordination

Group, and engaging the CCs in the process.

NIOSH’s work with WHO supports its commitment to

improving worker health both domestically and internationally.

The Coordination group will hold regfular online meetings.

The next step will be the consolidations of the technical

workplan in the individual priority areas. The coordination

group will start also work with WHO to develop the next

global master plan 2018-2021 to implement the WHO

commitments for action on workers’ health in line with the

Sustainable Development Golas and the ongoing WHO global

initiatives, such as universal health coverage, health

employment and inclusive economic growth, preparedness and

response to public health emergencies, prevention and

management of non-communicable diseases, health and

migration, and climate change, and social determinants of

health

Members of the Coordination Group

Italian National Insurance for Work Accidents and

Occupational Diseases (INAIL) - ITA-81

University of Maryland, School of Medicine - USA-334

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health -

USA-150

Great Lakes Center for Occupational & Environmental

Safety & Health, School of Public Health – USA-216

National Institute for Occupational Health - SOA-27

WHO

Submitted by:

Margaret Kitt, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) , WHO collaborating centre for occupational health

7

Meeting of the CC Coordination Group in Washington,

D.C., USA, September 2016

The Terms of Reference (ToR) for collaboration between

WHO and the International Centre for Rural Health of the San

Paolo Hospital of Milano focus on criteria for diagnosis and

compensation of occupational diseases, implementation of

pilot projects for the provision of occupational health in

agriculture and rural areas, and support the promotion of

worker’s health in agriculture. The Centre had significant

activities for each ToR; a collection of sheets addressed at

defining criteria for diagnosis and prevention of diseases listed

in the new ILO list, and completion of selected ICD codes, has

been delivered to ILO and a comprehensive book is in

preparation.

International Congress on Rural Health was organized from 8

to11 September, 2015, in Lodi, Italy. It was attended by 244

delegates from 30 Countries from all the corners of the world,

with the participation of the International Commission on

Occupational Health (collaborating with the organization of the

Event with 3 Scientific Committees), of the World Association

of Medical Doctors (WONCA) and the International

Association of Rural Medicine and Health (IARM). On this

occasion, IARM held its World Congress. In order to join the

International Congress on Rural Health, the “Safety Health and

Welfare in Agro-Food System – SHWA” Congress was moved

by the organisers from Ragusa (Sicilia, Italy) to Lodi. Opening

Lectures were provided by Ivan Ivanov (WHO Headquarters,

Geneva) speaking about “Universal health coverage for rural

and agricultural workers”. Dr, Shengli Niu (ILO, Geneva)

provided a lecture on “The three D jobs in rural areas and the

ILO initiatives”. Among other keynote speakers were Kurt

Streif (IARC), Tania Pekez Pavlisko (WONCA), Jorma

Rantanen and Sergio Iavicoli (ICOH).

The Congress ended with the adoption of “The New Lodi

Declaration on Rural Health”, published in the book of

abstracts (ISBN 978-1207-0-7-WEB). The Lodi Declaration

mainly addresses universal coverage and incorporation of

Occupational Health in primary health care, which are part of

the ToR of the Centre. In this specific field, the Centre has

continued its pilot experience of health care provision to rural

workers of the Region of Lombardy, with a specific effort to

promote collaboration with Rural GPs. The creation of an

“Epidemiologic Observatory” is under discussion, with the aim

of building a tool addressed at providing better estimates of the

burden of disease for risk factor of the regional rural workers

and at harmonizing the health surveillance approach, with a

particular interest in migrants and seasonal workers. As part of

its work to support WHO in protecting and promoting workers’

health in agriculture, ICRH is developing tools adequate for

low-cost high-impact prevention. To date, it is working on

exposure and risk profiles for major hazards in agriculture. Part

of the effort is invested in pesticide exposure and risk profiles,

which are developed starting from original field studies, and

can be used for basic preventive risk assessment. Moreover, to

face the high burden of musculoskeletal diseases in agriculture,

ICRH is developing risk profiles for workers’ biomechanical

overload. In particular, as part of the World Dairy Consortium,

the Centre, in collaboration with the Colorado State University,

is conducting several studies on biomechanical risk in the dairy

sector.

The contribution of the International Centre for Rural Health to the implementa-tion of the WHO global plan of action

Submitted by: Claudio Colosio, Stefan Mandic-Rajcevic and Federica Masci, International Centre for Rural Health of the San Paolo Hospital of Milano and Department of Health Sciences of the University of Milan, WHO Collaborating Centre for Occupational Health

8

News from WHO collaborating centres and partners (cont.)

Health services are complex work environments, which can

at times be hazardous. Unsafe working conditions may lead

to attrition of the health workforce. Decent work in the

health sector must include workers’ health and well-being,

since the quality of the work environment can influence the

quality of care provided by health workers.

HealthWISE -- a joint ILO/WHO publication -- is a

practical, participatory quality improvement tool for health

facilities. It encourages managers and staff to work together

to improve workplaces and practices. HealthWISE (Work

Improvement in Health Services) promotes the application

of smart, simple and low-cost solutions leading to tangible

benefits for workers and health services, and ultimately for

patients. The topics are organized in eight modules

addressing occupational safety and health, personnel

management and environmental health issues.

HealthWISE combines action and learning. The Action

Manual helps initiate and sustain changes for improvement,

using a checklist as a workplace assessment tool, designed

for identifying and prioritizing areas of action. Each of the

eight modules illustrates key checkpoints to help guide

action. The accompanying Trainers’ Guide contains

guidance and tools for a training course and is accompanied

by a CD-ROM, which includes a sample PowerPoint

presentation for each of the training sessions.

HealthWISE is designed for use by all who are concerned

with improving workplaces in the health sector, including

health workers and health-care managers, supervisors,

workers’ and employers’ representatives, labour inspectors,

occupational health specialists, trainers and educators.

Implementing HealthWise: Case studies on putting HealthWISE in to action using a practical, participatory quality improvement tool for health facilities.

9

News from WHO collaborating centres and partners (cont.)

Available on the web in English, French,

Portuguese and Chinese at

http://www.ilo.org/global/docs/

WCMS_237276/lang--en/index.htm

Available on the web in English, French

and Portuguese at

http://www.ilo.org/global/docs/

WCMS_237278/lang--en/index.htm

The healthcare sector is considered a ‘high-hazard’ industry as

health workers can encounter numerous occupational health

and safety (OHS) hazards within the course of their daily work.

This includes exposure to biological hazards (e.g., tuberculosis,

Hepatitis B), chemical hazards (e.g., sterilants, cleaning

products), physical hazards (e.g., excessive noise, radiation),

ergonomic hazards (e.g., heavy lifting), psychosocial hazards

(e.g., shiftwork, violence) and other basic safety hazards. As

highlighted by the recent Ebola crisis, failure to protect health

workers from hazards such these can have significant negative

consequences on the ability to provide patient care and on the

healthcare system as a whole.

In early 2014, before the Ebola crisis, a team from the

University of Maryland Baltimore’s (UMB) World Health

Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Occupational

Health, led by Dr. Melissa McDiarmid, visited the Gambia to

assess the status of occupational health and safety of health

workers and identify interest and potential partners for

addressing health worker protections. This work laid the

foundation for development of a three-day training curriculum

designed to build the capacity and knowledge of health

workers to address occupational health and safety hazards in

the Gambia using a ‘train-the-trainer’ approach. The

curriculum created by the UMB team was adapted from

existing HealthWISE materials. HealthWISE is a joint

International Labour Organization (ILO), WHO participatory

tool designed to improve workplaces and practices with low-

cost solutions within the health sector.

In early June 2016, partially funded by the UMB’s Global

Health Inter-professional Education Grant Program, Drs.

Melissa McDiarmid and Joanna Gaitens along with a team of

two medical students (Nicole Campion and Wesley Chen), one

social work student (Sarah Gregorini) and one dental student

(Alyssa Ruili) visited the Gambia over a two-week period and

in partnership with the Gambian Ministry of Health (MOH)

and The University of Gambia School of Medicine and Allied

Health Sciences (UTG), delivered the adapted HealthWISE

training to over 30 participants at the Edward Francis Small

Teaching Hospital (EFSTH) in Banjul. Participants included

officers from various departments within the MOH, staff from

EFSTH, representatives from health facilities elsewhere in the

Gambia and public health students from UTG.

The training, while focused on preventing exposures to blood-

borne and respiratory hazards, included an overview of OHS

hazards in the healthcare work setting, small group case studies

and a “walkthrough” of several departments at EFSTH to teach

participants how to identify and address potential hazards. As

part of the training, participants developed actionable plans for

addressing selected hazards and identified indicators that could

be used to gauge the effectiveness of their interventions. In

addition, plans for continued communication and collaboration

among participants to sustain and champion OHS prevention

efforts in the health sector were made.

Adaptation on HealthWISE in Gambia

Submitted by: Melissa McDiarmid and Joanna Gaitens, University of Maryland, School of Medicine, WHO Collaborating Centre for Occupational Health

10

News from WHO collaborating centres and partners (cont.)

Participants of the 3-day Workshop on OHS in the

Healthcare Sector, Banjul, Gambia.

The protection and promotion of health at the workplace is one

of the objectives of the WHO Global Plan of Action for

Workers’ Health (2008-2017). Seeking to target the ever-

present threats of TB and HIV through both applying

interventions and increasing capacity in terms of knowledge

and skills, we sought partnerships with local stakeholders and

developed a project in which we could study the

implementation of HealthWISE in Southern Africa.

HealthWISE is a participatory, quality improvement

methodology for healthcare facilities developed by the ILO and

WHO, that aims to improve the occupational health and safety

(OHS) of health workers through implementing simple, cost-

effective solutions to workplace issues.

Our WHO collaborating centre (CC)’s HealthWISE project in

Southern Africa is a three country comparative case study in

selected healthcare facilities in Mozambique, South Africa and

Zimbabwe, in which we are working closely with the South

African National Institute for Occupational Health (NIOH) –

another WHO CC. HealthWISE consists of eight modules, and

this project focuses on Module 3: Biological hazards and

infection control, with special reference to HIV and TB, and

Module 4: Tackling discrimination, harassment and violence at

the workplace.

With representation from all countries involved in the project, a

two-day planning meeting and site visits were conducted in

Zimbabwe and abbreviated meetings and site visits were

conducted in South Africa from February 1-5, 2016. These

meetings served to introduce the project to key stakeholders

and helped to better understand the OHS priorities for health

workers in the different countries, which helped to identify

areas where HealthWISE solutions and strategies might later be

targeted.

Key steps in the planning and development phases include

strengthening partnerships with international, national and local

stakeholders, engaging with local team members and

participants to better understand OHS issues in their

workplaces and to build local capacity, and effectively

developing and communicating a feasible and sustainable plan

that meets both the practical and research needs of those

involved. Training of HealthWISE Champions to empower

local participants with knowledge and skills to recognize and

creatively address workplace issues was identified as an

important factor in these phases. Training-of-trainer workshops

in each country are therefore planned as the next step in this

project. This project adds to the efforts of the WHO of

protecting and promoting health at the workplace, and is a good

example of well-coordinated international efforts aiming at

promoting global health equity in occupational health.

HealthWISE implementation in Southern Africa

Submitted by: Stephanie Parent, Research Coordinator Global Health Research Program University of British Columbia, WHO Collaborating Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health

11

News from WHO collaborating centres and partners (cont.)

Publications

FIOH’s Cochrane Work Group produced Cochrane Reviews in following areas: Clothes and equipment for healthcare staff to prevent Ebola and other highly infective diseases, Workplace interventions to decrease sitting time at work, Interventions for improving employment outcomes in persons with HIV, Interventions to increase the reporting of occupational diseases for physicians and Interventions for improving well-being and reducing work-related stress in teachers. The Review Preventing occupational stress in health care workers was updated.

In response to the outbreak of Zika virus disease WHO developed emergency guidelines to provide recommendations on essential measures to protect the health and safety of operators and other persons involved in emergency vector control of Aedes spp. mosquitoes, including space spraying of insecticides, larvicide application and, in some cases, indoor residual spraying. The document is intended to be used by vector control managers and operators, public health workers, medical professionals, district health officers and ministries of health. Available in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese at http://www.who.int/csr/resources/publications/zika/emergency-vector-control/en/

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and

the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health jointly published

Improving Workers’ Health Across the Globe. This booklet

highlights successful contributions of the Global Network of

WHO Collaborating Centres for Occupational Health to improve

worker health. This success document organizes effective

examples from across the globe using the objectives set in the

Global Plan of Action for Workers’ Health, a plan created to

improve the health of all workers.

12

Upcoming events

26-28 April 2018

Dublin

Information session on progress made under the WHO Global Plan of Action on Workers’ Health (2008 - 2017) on 6 September 2017, 14 :00 – 17.30 h SGT, Orchid Jr Room, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore The session will provide an opportunity for stakeholders and interested parties to learn about and provide their comments on the progress made under the WHO Global Plan of Action on Workers’ Health (2008-2017) To register for the event http://www.who.int/occupational_health/signup/en/ More information http://www.who.int/occupational_health/events/gloabl-plan-action-worker-health/en/

6 SEPT 2017

Singapore

11th

meeting of the global network of WHO collaborating centres for occupational health, 26-28 April 2018, Dublin Ireland The meeting will discuss the work of WHO and its collaborating centres for occupational health to follow up the Global Plan of Action on Workers’ Health in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals and WHO global initiatives on universal health coverage, health employment and public health emergencies, prevention and management of non-communicable diseases at the workplace, detection and reporting of occupational diseases, health information and metrics,, vulnerable groups of workers

29-4 APRIL—MAY 2018

Dublin Ireland

32nd

International Conference on Occupational Health

The Congress is organized as the triennial congress of the

International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH). The

2017 Congress, focusing on occupational health and well being,

will emphasize translating research to practice.

13

For more information please visit: http://icoh2018.org/wp/

Become a GOHNET member:

http://www.who.int/occupational_health/publications/

newsletter/en/index.html

Archive of newsletter

WHO Occupational Health web site:

http://www.who.int/occupational_health/en/

WHO CC web site:

http://www.who.int/occupational_health/network/en/

WHO publications:

http://www.who.int/occupational_health/publications/en/

GOHNET NEWSLETTER TEAM

WHO Editor Evelyn Kortum

Technical and language editors Leslie Nickels, Deborah Hoyer and Nura Sadeghpour, CDC NIOSH

Layout CDC NIOSH

Useful WHO links

© World Health Organization 2017.

The named authors and editors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this publication.

The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opin-ion whatsoever on the part of WHO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Dotted and dashed lines on maps represent approximate border lines for which there may not yet be full agreement. The mention of specific companies or of certain manufacturers’ products does not imply that they are endorsed or recom-mended by WHO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. Errors and omissions excepted, the

names of proprietary products are distinguished by initial capital letters.