8th Meeting of the Global Network of WHO
Collaborating Centres for Occupational Health
Geneva, 19-23 October 2009
Workers Health
in the Eastern Mediterranean
Said Arnaout, M.D., Ph.D
Regional Adviser, WHO/EMRO
arnaouts@emro.who.int
WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region
Palestine
LEB
Bahrain
22 Member States
Population: 540 Million
WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region
Palestine
LEB
Bahrain
3 mega countries
WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region
Palestine
LEB
Bahrain
Countries in crisis, conflict, emergency
situations
EMR
Wide Variation, Cultural Similarities
• Wide range of GDP (Somalia-Qatar)
• Labour force (10-50%) of active
population
• Non-local/ immigrant workers represent
the majority of the workforce in some
of Gulf countries
• Huge informal sector
• Unemployment, double job
• Working children
What are the
main challenges,
facing
workers’ health
in EMR?
Workers’ Health Dilemma
in EMR
• Rapid growth of general population and
young people reaching adulthood (huge
increase in labour force, unemployment)
• Inequity, poverty, conflicts, disasters
• Conventional as well as new challenges
• Insufficient and inadequate OH&S services
(human resources, infrastructure, education,
training, reliable information and research)
• Diverse spectrum of occupational and general
health risks (Triple Burden)
Triple Burden of Disease
• Communicable Diseases
• Non-communicable Diseases
(behavior-related risk factors/smoking,
unhealthy diet, physical inactivity) and
chronic stress of various causes
• Occupational and Work-related
Diseases
Regional Situation
• OH Services are significantly vary from one EM
country to another
• Variations include both qualitative and
quantitative parameters
• There are very good amount of experience in
some EM countries, and could be used,
exchanged or even replicated by other countries
• There is a pressing need to enhance and
progress OH services in every EM country
• (innovative & cost-effective approaches) is
needed
Collaborating Centres (CCs) for
Occupational Health in EMRO
• 3 (2 in Egypt, 1 in Tunisia)
• Others who showed interest (1
Egypt, 1 Iran, I UAE, 1 Morocco,
1 Pakistan)
• OSH activities are mainly
implemented by MOHs
Important Country Activities
• Bahrain: OHS Committees in all
Ministries (MOH)
• Tunisia:
- Regular publication of OHS Journal
- Annual OHS Conference on regular
basis
• Jordan: National Strategy OHS
• Iran: Silicosis Prevention & Control
Program; PHC
• Kuwait: Healthy Work Places and
Disability assessment Workshop
Important Country Activities
• Egypt: Several training courses for PHC workers
– National workshop on protecting HCWs & preventing
needle-stick injuries, 4-5 Dec. 2006
• KSA: national Workshop on OHS in Medical
practices, Needle stick injury surveillance
• UAE: National Training Workshop on OHS for
PHC Physicians
• Syria: Translation & production of background
materials
• Libya, Oman &Yemen: Training course for
health inspectors
UAE, Libya, Oman &Yemen:
Training courses for PHC workers
Important Country Activities
• Qatar: Increasing interest in occupational
health
• Morocco: heading towards establishing
national centre for occupational health
• Iraq: Reviving occupational health in the
country
• Oman:
– 1st International conference Dec. 2006
– Healthy workplaces initiative 2007
Main Obstacles
– lack of effective
coordination
between concerned
authorities
– Role conflicts
between various
authorities
responsible for OHS
– Weak legislation
and/or enforcement
– Insufficient
budgetary
resources or
human resources
(even in WHO)
– lack of
educational
programs
– lack of expertise
– lack of standards
Very Important Obstacle
• Working in the
field of
occupational
health and safety
is not rewarding
job in this part of
the world!!??
The greatest challenge
• How to
transform the
difficulties,
obstacles and
challenges into
opportunities?
Role of WHO/EMRO
• Strengthening national programmes
Workers’ Health:
–
–
–
–
MOH & MOL, ILO, ALO, WHO
Academia & Collaborating Centres
Organizations of Employers & Workers, NGOs
Private sector
• Coordination with other programmes and
initiatives under HPP and other Divisions
• Make maximum use of the momentum of
GPA & HWPs Initiative
3
Recent Important
Milestones
in Developing workers
Health WHO/EMRO
2003
• Regional Consultative meeting
on the development trends
of occupational health and
safety in the EMR “Current
status and perspective”,
Damascus, Syria, 16-18 Dec.
2003
2005
• Intercountry workshop on
“primary health care and basic
occupational health services:
Challenges and opportunities
in Eastern Mediterranean Region,
Sharm ElSheikh, Egypt, 12-14
July 2005
Some Regional Publications
2008
• Regional workshop
on “Updating
national
strategies and
plans of action on
workers health”
Manama, Kingdom
of Bahrain, 5-7 May
2008
The Regional Office and the EM
countries actively involved in the
preparation process for the Global
Plan of Action on Workers’ Health
17/22 countries of the EMR responded to the
Country Questionnaire on WHO GPA on WH
EMRO developed the Regional
Framework for Implementing the GPA
• A country questionnaire on “Following up
the implementation of the regional
Framework on WH was sent to all EM
countries”.
• To urge them to develop their own national
framework and to help develop the
baseline data with performance
indicators
• Positive responses are being received
Inter-regional activities
the WHO/ILO Joint Efforts on
Occupational Health and Safety in Africa
• Unified Country Profile on
Occupational Health in Egypt,
prepared jointly with all partners
concerned on occupational health
and safety at national level
• A workshop on the national
occupational health and safety
profile in Egypt was successfully
organized in EMRO, Egypt, 29–30
October 2003, as an activity of
these joint efforts
Strengthening the cooperation and
collaboration with ILO & ALO
• Signing of
Memorandum of
Understanding
(MOU) between
WHO/EMRO, and
the Arab Labour
Organization
• Coordination
meeting (ILO, ALO,
WHO) and a joint
plan
The Executive Board of Health
Ministers’ Council for the Gulf
Cooperation Council States
• Established the Gulf
Committee for
Occupational Health
which was instrumental in
convincing the GCC
council to:
– adopt the Gulf Strategy on
OHS
– Adopt the HWPs initiative
MEETINGS OF THE REGIONAL
ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR HEALTH
AND ENVIRONMENT (RACHE)
• Occupational Health is
an Important Issue on
the Agendas
• Establishment of Regional
EH Team with CEHA, 3rd
Meeting of (RACHE) 12-14
Oct. 2009
Committee on Health and Safety in
the Workplace in the Regional Office
• Important achievement
• Established by the Regional
Director’s Circular No. 812
• On line questionnaire of assessing
stress and other psychosocial factors
at WHO workplaces
• Our Target is to make WHO premises
HWPs
WHO/EMRO Priority Actions
• National frameworks for GPA (priority
areas)
• Unified National profiles
• PHC and BOHS
• HWPs (Operationalization)
• Integrative approach to protect and
promote the health of HCWs
• Capacity building at all levels
Thanks
To all who
organized this
meeting, and
who supported
EMRO, our
Member States
and CCs in the
EM Region