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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Custodio Valentim Muianga, MPH, BSc, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, 3223 Eden Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0056, 513-961-0103, muiangcv@email.uc.edu

Occupational safety and health (OSH) programs can't stand alone, particularly in developing countries like Mozambique, where the healthcare burden associated with HIV/AIDS, malaria, cholera and tuberculosis is large. This presentation provides a situational analysis of OSH services in Mozambique based on a comprehensive exposure assessment using qualitative and semi-quantitative methods including data collected in four small projects between 1995 and 2005. About 60% of Mozambican formal sector workers are unionized. Among these workers, occupational safety and health is perceived as: the employers provision of milk to washout occupational exposures, monetary subsidy for performing hazardous jobs, and use of personal protective equipment. Over 60 % of medium and large enterprises have a health clinic, which focus on general healthcare instead of occupational diseases and injuries. One occupational physician is practicing at Mozambique's largest hospital. The absence of reliable recording and registration systems for occupational injuries and diseases does not allow good estimates of occupational injury and disease rates. Based on the qualitative and semi-quantitative exposure assessment the highest risks are road traffic and construction work, followed by biological hazards associated with poor hygiene and sanitation, chemical hazards, such as silica, lead and gasoline, and physical hazards such as noise, poor lighting, and ergonomics. There are many scattered, unorganized and unrecorded OSH activities. Simple and low cost administrative interventions in OSH would identify, evaluate, control and manage most of the generic OSH hazards and would provide appropriate metrics to evaluate its contribution to Mozambique's poverty reduction plan.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Describe Occupational Health and Safety Services in Mozambique
• List 7 Poverty Reduction Indicators in Mozambique
• Match and evaluate the contribution of occupational health and safety on poverty reduction plan
• Recommend intervention strategies

Keywords: Occupational Health Programs, International Public Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered