The voluntary association Workplace Health Without Borders aims to advance occupational hygiene and disease prevention around the world. Their new video shows members describing some of their activities. For example:
- helping to start an undergraduate occupational health program at Renaissance University in Enugu, Nigeria.
- developing a project to help a group in India that works to prevent silicosis among agate workers.
WHWB also provides training on occupational health, hygiene and disease prevention to those who would otherwise lack access to training, including:
- Training for occupational health and hygiene professionals to advance their professional qualifications and knowledge. This includes courses certified by OHTA, for whom WHWB is an approved provider.
- Training for people who work in fields related to occupational health and hygiene, who would benefit from greater knowledge about workplace disease and its prevention. This training would be of interest to doctors, nurses, engineers, public health professionals, human resources professionals, and managers of business and volunteer organizations. For example, WHWB conducted a program on occupational hygiene to physicians in India who wanted to increase their knowledge about occupational health.
- Training for employers and workers who need to know about health hazards in their workplaces.
- Training for agencies and NGOs who work in developing countries, to help them protect their field staff and volunteers, and ensure that their projects are implemented in ways that protect worker and community health. For example, WHWB can help organizations that assist in business development to ensure that the businesses they develop do not put their workers’ health at risk.
The WHWB mentor program matches volunteer mentors with people who need a mentor in occupational hygiene. Those who need mentors (“mentees”) may be new to the profession and lack regular contact with others who have more experience in the field. Some mentees have recently taken an occupational health or hygiene course and would like guidance on how to put what they have learned into practice. For example, WHWB is currently mentoring mentees in Tanzania and Uruguay.
Through their equipment donation program, WHWB accepts donations of occupational hygiene equipment and identifies groups who need equipment that they could not otherwise access or afford For example, one company contacted WHWB about equipment they were willing to donate. WHWB recommended a recipient in Uruguay to whom the donor company shipped the equipment.
