Occupational Safety and Health in Agriculture needs strengthening

Maarten Verberk, Gert van der Laan and Frank van Dijk, foundation Learning and Developing Occupational Health (LDOH)

contact address: maarten.verberk@ldoh.net

Involved ICOH Scientific Committees: SC Education and Training, SC Rural health

We understood that in many regions, there is a need for a short course about workers’ health in agriculture for practitioners in primary or community health care. Reasons are the multitude of risks to health and safety due to work in agriculture, in combination with the lack of professional occupational health support in the agricultural sector in most countries. Primary and community health care can form a feasible basis for improvements, integrating basic occupational health activities in existing facilities. Several countries did make substantial progress in this, for example Thailand and Iran. Others are starting: India, Turkey and Indonesia. New initiatives are seen in Latin America, Europe and Africa.

Education and training of professionals in primary or community health care can contribute to progress in tackling occupational health problems, also because farmers and agricultural workers with health complaints will visit these local services.

A working group[1] of the not-for-profit foundation LDOH (www.ldoh.net) is producing a short course program and concrete course materials under the title Work and Health in Agriculture. We are now halfway with the development of a concise book with basic knowledge, chapter-wise recommendations for the teachers, and presentations. The course program and materials will be available for teams of teachers that intend to translate, adapt and execute the course. The content of the course agrees very well with the WHO, ILO, WONCA and ICOH policy of introducing basic occupational health care in primary health care.

A working group[1] of the not-for-profit foundation LDOH (www.ldoh.net) is producing a short course program and concrete course materials under the title Work and Health in Agriculture. We are now halfway with the development of a concise book with basic knowledge, chapter-wise recommendations for the teachers, and presentations. The course program and materials will be available for teams of teachers that intend to translate, adapt and execute the course. The content of the course agrees very well with the WHO, ILO, WONCA and ICOH policy of introducing basic occupational health care in primary health care.

At this moment we are interested in contact with experts in institutions such as universities, national institutes or others who might be interested in participation in our project or in adapting and using our final course program and materials. For further information we offer you a link to an Excerpt presenting an outline of the course and an impression of the course materials in development.

https://ldoh.net/ldoh-news/work-and-health-in-agriculture-for-primary-health-care/

[1] Maarten Verberk, Mieke Lumens, Ad de Rooij, Gert van der Laan, Frank van Dijk