Society of Occupational and Environmental Health Physicians of Nigeria (SOEHPON) has appealed to the incoming National Assembly to ensure that they pass the bill on occupational health for the benefit of Nigerians.
Speaking at a health walk organised by the society in Lagos to mark the 2023 World Health and Safety at Work Day, president of SOEHPON, Musa Shaibu described the bill as one of the obsolete labour laws currently pending in the National Assembly and demanded that it should be urgently passed in to an act.
Shaibu also called on executive arm of governments at various levels to ensure strict application of relevant laws on workers’ health and safety, adding that regulators of such laws should be properly trained and empowered to ensue effectiveness.
On the other, he stressed the need for stakeholders to pay sincere commitment to the safety, health and well-being of their workers by emplacing, enabling and supporting adequate systems to enhance occupational health programmes and services in their organisations, saying that any declaration of commitment without these systems in place can only be described as ‘lip service’‘.
Talking about the 2023 World Health and Safety at Work Day with the theme, “a safe and healthy working environment is a fundamental principle and right at work”, SOEHPON president said: “International Labour Organisation (ILO) set aside 28th April every year to draw attention to the prevention of work-related accidents and diseases. It is however for convenience that we select today, 29th April to commemorate this important day’’.
He however, advised the leadership of all organisations, to emplace adequate systems, supported with unequivocal management commitment to promote and protect the health and safety of their workers.
Studies, he said have shown that unsafe and unhealthy work environment, characterised by non-existent or poorly defined SOPs, poor workstation, long working hours, high work burden, work stresses among others are associated with high prevalence of accidents and Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).
These NCDs, he clarified are conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity among others.
Quoting studies, he said: “In 2022, the over 3.3 billion persons in employment contributed an estimated 2.1 percent of all global deaths and 2.7 percent of global disease burden as a result of risks in the workplace. Sadly, a significant portion of deaths and disabilities from the workplace affect workers in low and middle-income countries like Nigeria.”
According to him, WHO and ILO recognise that people spend significant parts of their lives at work adding, “a healthy working population in a safe working environment is critical to a healthy and safe national population. ILO occupational safety and health convention and recommendation provide frameworks to protect the health and safety of workers in all occupations.
“WHO also advocates that governments at all levels with employers should ensure that workplace programmes are emplaced to protect the health, safety and well-being of their workers. This is the right of all workers’’.
Defining Occupational Health as one specialty of medicine that provides for the health and safety of people at work, Shaibu explained that it is a domain in healthcare that provide for every citizen; so long as the person is alive and has a livelihood, even the child in kindergarten.
In his words: “It aims to promote and maintain workers’ optimal physical, mental and social well-being. Occupational health professionals in workplaces provide advice on employee health, fitness for work and placement, nutrition, and psycho-social well-being among others, all to minimize work-related man-hour losses and ensure optimal productivity, profitability and good corporate image.’’
On the health walk which kicked off from the National stadium Surulere, Lagos to other areas in Lagos, he explained draws attention to physical exercise, a key wellness activity which according to him employers should not only provide for, but support to enhance the workers’ optimal physical and mental health.
‘’The health benefits of regular exercises are enormous and too numerous to mention here. Employers may therefore provide for regular exercises in the workplace by installing an on-site gym or membership subscription of approved centers; organising lunch time team walks; walking meetings; encourage out of office lunch break for workers; set up common used office facilities away from workstations to encourage people to get up and move,’’ Shaibu added.
On her part, assistant director Lagos regional office, Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Juliet Okoro acknowledged that risks and hazards are everywhere and therefore, urged organisations to ensure their work environment is safe.
