The International Conclave on Occupational Health (OCCUCON 2020) was held from January 28 – 30, 2020 at the Nehru Centre in Mumbai, India. It was a successful collaboration of eight Scientific Committees (SCs) of ICOH supported by the Indian Association of Occupational Health (IAOH). The theme of the Conference was “Keys to sustainable OSH – Evidence, Practice and Collaboration”.
The SC Rural Health was one of the eight SCs which collaborated in this successful joint event. The SC Rural Health sessions were dedicated to global warming and climate change and a badge inscribed – “Stop Global Warming” was given to the delegates who attended the SC Rural Health Sessions.
Prof Gert van der Laan (Netherlands), Past SC Chair, was the keynote speaker from SC Rural Health on Tuesday, 28 January and he delivered a presentation titled “Keys to Agricultural Workers’ Health: Some challenges ahead”.
The first part of the SC Rural Health Session on Wednesday, 29 January, was dedicated to the hot topic ‘Global Warming and Climate Change’. The Chair of SC Rural Health, Dr Sashikala Chandrasekar (India) started this session by giving an overview presentation on the causes and impacts of global warming and climate change. Ms Claudina Nogueira (South Africa), ICOH Vice President for SCs, was invited by the SC Rural Health to contribute to the programme, and delivered the second presentation titled “The myriad faces of climate change: Lessons for occupational and public health”, which focussed on impacts on health and the environment, some examples from developing countries, as well as suggestions for preventive measures which can be applied to reduce the effects of global warming. A short video on the effects of global warming was screened between the first and second presentations of this session, for creating awareness about this important subject; the screening was appreciated by the delegates, even though it delivered a sombre ‘take-home’ message and sounded many alarm bells in the room. In the second part of this session, members from the SC Rural Health presented on their topics of expertise and interest, as indicated below.
Dr Erik Jørs (Chair of SC Mining Occupational Safety and Health, Denmark) presented “Examples on how and why local small-scale OSH interventions in agriculture can suddenly have national impact”; Dr Mahinda Seneviratne (Chair of SC Small-Scale Enterprises and the Informal Sector, Australia) presented on “Health hazard communication”; Prof Pierluigi Cocco (Italy) presented on “Lymphoma risk following exposure to organic dusts in agricultural occupations”; Prof Susan Brumby (Australia) delivered a presentation titled “I didn’t think it mattered – Needlestick incidents in the livestock sectors in Victoria, Australia”; Dr Praveen Vemula (India) presented on “Prophylactic technologies to prevent pesticide-induced toxicity and mortality” and Dr Sara Arphorn (Thailand) delivered a presentation titled “Farmer’s health: Working conditions and behaviours”.
In the Joint Session of SC Rural Health and SC Small-Scale Enterprises and the Informal Sector on Tuesday, 28 January, the speakers and their topics were as follows: Prof Gert van der Laan – New and emerging occupational diseases; Dr Susan Brumby – Farmers’ suicide literacy and stigma: The ‘Ripple Effect’; and Prof Vidhya Venugopal (India) – Climate change and impact of heat on rural workers.
In the Joint Session of SC Rural Health and SC Occupational Health in the Construction Industry on Wednesday, 29 January, the speakers and their topics were as follows: Dr Sashikala Chandrasekar – Pesticide issues in India and means of mitigation; Prof Pierluigi Cocco – Health effects of long-term exposure to pesticides; Mr Krishna Nirmalya Sen (Chair of SC Occupational Health in the Construction Industry, India) – Promoting OSH in construction through information, education and communication and Mr. Indranil Chakraborty (India) – Rural mass in construction, OSH challenges and mitigation.
SCRH Business Meeting was held on 28 January. SCRH Members – Prof. Gert van der Laan, Prof. Pierluigi Cocco, Dr. Erik Joers, Dr. Susan Brumby, Dr. Sashikala Chandrasekar and Dr Ramin Tabibi attended the meeting. Prof. Malcolm Sim participated in the meeting to present about the ICOH Congress 2021 at Melbourne, Australia.
Dr Sashikala Chandrasekar received the Dr C K Ramchander Oration Award from Indian Association of Occupational Health during the inaugural function of OCCUCON 2020 on 29 January and she delivered this prestigious oration on 1st February.