WAHSA Projects

WAHSA Projects

Phase I of WAHSA consists of the following 10 projects:

Project 1: Establishment of Resource Complexes

Background

Several universities and institutes working with different aspects of OSH exist in the region. Through the establishment of resource complexes, greater cooperation between them will result in more effective OSH programmes in the region.

Project update

Report on regional OSH activities

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Project 2: Profiling Occupational Safety and Health

Data on occupational safety and health are scant in Southern Africa. Profiling of regional occupational health and safety will contribute to information for advocacy and prioritisation, and assist SADC in collecting OSH data.

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Project 3: The basis for planning future interventions

Because OSH practice is poor in the region there are many potential opportunities for high impact interventions to improve working life and to demonstrate the value of healthy work. Reliable information about the options for interventions will be collected in Phase I for their planning and implementation in subsequent phases of WAHSA.

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Project 4: Training of occupational health and safety professionals

Some training programmes exist for professionals in occupational safety and health exist in the region. A 1997 review of these programmesundertaken under the auspices of SADC Employment and Labour Sector identified a lack of capacity in OSH training, and an obvious need for cooperation among training programmes. This project will assess current training capacity and needs in order to develop a training startegy for the region.

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Project 5: Access to information

Adequate access to information is a basic tenet of occupational safety and health and the Southern African region has inadequate access to such information. This inadequacy has been recognised by SADC and one partial solution was to establish an occupational health Clearing House at the NIOH to serve SADC member countries.

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Project 6: Advocacy and awareness raising

The long-term Programme objectives are increased awareness in SADC countries of the essential role of healthy work, and improved knowledge of health promotion and the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases.

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Project 7: Action on silica, silicosis and tuberculosis

Silica exposure and silicosis have reemerged as very serious public health issues in Southern Africa.Increased awareness that silica dust and silicosis are serious is a necessary, although not sufficient, requirement for a change in attitude to eliminating the silica hazard. Activities to achieve increased awareness would include: a) The development of core information materials, b) The development of methods to assist in the use of core materials, c) Dissemination in the region.

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Project 8: Action on pesticides

One of WAHSA's three main sub-projects focuses on Action on Pesticides. It is a joint initiative being driven by the Occupational and Environmental Health Research Unit at the University of Cape Town and the Tropical Pesticides Research Institute (TPRI), Arusha, Tanzania.

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Project 9: Action on small scale informal sector enterprises

The informal sector and the small scale enterprises constitute a rapid economic growth point in most countries, industrialised and developing countries. While industrialised countries are able to initiate appropriate strategies for these categories of employment, this is not possible in the developing and newly industrialised countries

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Project 10: Planning of the second Phase of the Programme

The first Phase of WHASA will make positive interventions in key sectors (Project 7,8 and 9), and will also build a foundation for future planning by gathering the necessary information (Project 3) and by building political will for action through advocacy and public awareness of the benefits of healthy work (Project 6). Phase II of the Programme will need to be planned with the social partners supported by professional who know the region, and by public servants and others who will contribute to project implementation.

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