Pan African Conference on
Occupational Health 2005 –
Casablanca, Morocco
Karen Michell,
SASOHN President
Fiona Robinson,
Senior Lecturer,
School of Health
Systems and Public
Health,
University of
Pretoria
T
he 6th Pan African Conference on Occupational Health (PACOH) was hosted in Casablanca, Morocco, from 1 to 3 April 2005. The
theme of the conference was ‘Occupational Health
for All in Africa’. It was the first African Regional Association on Occupational Health (ARAOH) scientific
meeting on occupational health. It provided a forum
for decision-makers, researchers, health and safety
experts, enterprise’s representatives, employers and
workers’ organizations, and international organizations to share their research data, knowledge and
experience in order to promote safe and healthy
workplaces in Africa.
The conference was preceded by an afternoon
of two pre-conference workshops attended by 49
people. Unfortunately the Scientific Committee on
Occupational Health Nursing (SCOHN) workshop
scheduled as a pre-conference workshop was cancelled at the eleventh hour, as there was no translation available. The main conference was presented
in French and English.
Academic content of the conference was divided
into three main topics, i.e. prevention of accidents,
training of occupational health personnel and risk
assessment in occupational health. A number of representatives from African countries explained the
developments that had taken place in their countries
to address these issues. There was agreement on a
number of needs for future development and these
have been summarized below.
PREVENTION
OF ACCIDENTS
• The definition of an occupational accident is very
similar for most of the countries discussed (Morocco,
Algeria, Tunisia, Senegal and Gabon), and also similar to that in use in South Africa.
• It is accepted that laws are necessary to prevent
accidents but that these laws alone are insufficient
in preventing accidents. A political will is necessary
that is backed up by enforcement of the legislation
and professional excellence.
• In terms of the management of occupational accidents, it was discussed that the attitude of managers
to accidents must be changed until they are as concerned about health and safety as they are about
productivity.
• There is a need to increase the number and con-
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH SOUTHERN AFRICA
CASABLANCA,
THE
‘WHITE
CITY’.
tent of accident awareness and sensitization programmes for workers. Workers do not appreciate the
importance of working safely.
• Currently there is fragmentation within the existing
occupational health systems with an absence of reliable databases. This fragmentation needs to be
addressed in order to establish databases that can
be used more significantly.
• A harmonization of activities at regional, national
and international level is required.
• Many of these areas could be addressed through
the establishment of committees of experts to
establish practical ways to resolve these problems
in accident prevention.
TRAINING OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH (OH)
PERSONNEL
• Dramatic progress has been seen in the training
of OH personnel through networking and the
sharing of information between the university
hospitals.
• There has been an increase in the dissemination
of information and training. More countries are now
able to offer training programmes through varied
mediums.
• Bridging between facilities is taking place currently
with OH personnel being sent to other institutions to
gain knowledge.
• An urgent need exists for the development and training of mentors, teachers and leaders in OH. These
pillars of excellence should then be used as resources for problem resolution.
• More practical training courses in OH are required.
MAY/JUNE 2005
27
RISK
ASSESSMENT IN
OH
• Information is forthcoming from the European countries but more work is needed in this area.
• Improved competencies and qualifications are
needed in this area.
• Improved resources are needed in Africa. Much of
the modern scientific equipment used to measure
hazards is unaffordable to African countries.
• There is a need to increase co-operation between
African countries.
Much of the progress that was spoken about was
evident through the poster presentations. There were
a total of 52 original posters. Five awards were made
to authors who had presented material of an outstanding quality. These went to Morocco, Tunisia,
Senegal and Libya. In total, 327 people attended the
conference over the four-day period. There were 41
academic presentations, two of which were from
South Africa, presented by Jenny Serfontein and
Ferdie Smith.
Benin and Mauritania joined the PACOH family
during the Casablanca conference. The PACOH
chair was handed over to Professor Kholti from
Morocco. Our congratulations go out to him as he
takes up this responsibility. Professor Kholti is very
passionate about occupational health and one
should expect great things from him in this position. The 7th PACOH conference will be held in 2008
in one of the following countries: Benin, Kenya or
Nigeria. The decision will be made in the next three
months.
Karen’s personal thanks go to SASOHN who
sponsored her presence at this conference. It was
an enlightening experience. Fiona has the School of
Health Systems and Public Health to thank for her
trip. In southern Africa we have achieved so much in
the field of occupational health of which we can be
justly proud. Our geographical distance from North
African countries would appear to be a stumbling
block in dissemination of skills and knowledge. These
are true challenges that the professional bodies need
to seek to overcome.
AIA Consultants t/a APEX
Approved Inspection
Authority (CI 084 OH)
INTRODUCTION
assessments and environmental noise rating
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Robert Randolph and Sean Chester, two highly
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mulated 28 years of Occupational Hygiene
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consulting experience and share a common vision
current SHE legal and guideline standards. This will
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pany, an evaluation of the findings and specific rec-
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ommendations for all areas/processes assessed.
Inspection Authority (Certificate Number CI 084 OH,
AIA Consultants t/a Apex).
APEX offers professional services in:
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• Occupational Hygiene: surveys and assessments
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noise, lighting, ventilation, thermal stress, asbes-
28
tos, lead, hazardous biological agents and
Contact:
ergonomics.
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e-mail:
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MAY/JUNE 2005
Robert, Sean or Jason
(031) 914 1004
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH SOUTHERN AFRICA