Posted on June 1, 2016
Asbestos exposure and prevention got top billing in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) new booklet published in May 2016 titled “Improving Workers’ Health Across the Globe: Advancing the Global Plan of Action for Workers’ Health.”
The goal of WHO’s Global Action Plan is to devise and implement policy instruments on workers’ health, provide and communicate evidence for action and practice, and ultimately, to protect and promote health in the workplace. As asbestos is among the most dangerous chemicals, and a known human carcinogen, it is prioritized alongside silica as the top two threats that require immediate action. The Global Action Plan highlights the Asian Asbestos Initiative as an example of a regional organization successfully working toward asbestos bans, and offers it as a model that could be adapted for other regions.
WHO has also worked with Collaborating Centres on Occupational Health to provide a Toolkit for the Elimination of Asbestos-Related Diseases (ARDs), which includes a vast number of education material on asbestos legislation, regulation, risk assessment, and ARDs.
As we at ADAO know all to well, asbestos will continue causing unnecessary deaths until lawmakers across the globe put measures in place to protect the public and those working most closely with the toxic substance. ADAO applauds WHO for using using its positions to call on countries to deal with the deadly problem of asbestos and for reinforcing the priority with which it needs to be addressed.
Linda